Heart of Fire: Pool of Cinders Book 1
by The Unheard Song
Summary: Complete! What if Sandpaw had died in the battle with ShadowClan? Would Leafpool, Squirrelflight, and her kits have existed? Who would the "fire that saves the Clan" mate with? And how did Sandpaw really feel about Firepaw in the beginning?
1. xxPROLOGUExx

**I thought up a bunch of new plots, but this is my favorite one. It's about Sandpaw dying and yeah…so here's a prologue!**

PROLOGUE

_Firepaw slashed at the ShadowClan tom's nose. The brown tabby tom stumbled back, blood pouring out of his nose. He hissed and aimed a swipe at Firepaw's ears. Pinning the flame-colored apprentice down, the tabby tom lowered his head for the killing bite._

"_Let go of him, you lump of fox dung!" A loud screech echoed the clearing, and suddenly the weight of the ShadowClan cat was gone. Firepaw blinked open his eyes and saw a lump of pale ginger fur and brown tabby fur rolling together in a mass of teeth, claws, and whiskers._

"_Sandpaw!" Firepaw called. Before he could leap into the battle, Dustpaw flashed by and grabbed the brown tabby by the scruff of his neck. "Dustpaw!" Sandpaw gasped in anger. "I could've handled that lump of fur and bones by my-" _

_Before she could finish, Firepaw saw the ShadowClan deputy Cinderfur leap onto Sandpaw's shoulders. Sandpaw rolled over and battered at Cinderfur's soft underbelly with her hind paws, but it was too late. Cinderfur opened her jaws, revealing sharp white teeth and sank her fangs into Sandpaw's throat._

"_Sandpaw!" Dustpaw yowled. He darted to the ginger she-cat's side. Sandpaw was lying on her side, gasping and shaking violently. She slowly turned her head to face Dustpaw. "Sandpaw! Don't…don't die!" Dustpaw wailed, pressing his nose to her fur. "Dustpaw," Sandpaw croaked with a gurgling sound in her throat. Blood bubbled out of the wound in her neck as she spoke. "Tell Firepaw that I-" _

_The sandy colored she-cat's pale green eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her body convulsed, and was still. "Sandpaw…" Dustpaw whispered. His voice rose into a sharp wail. "Sandpaw!"_

**Awwwww…sadness…not very long, but this is just the prologue. So don't review saying, "try to make the chapters longer" because this was all I **_**could **_**write to make it short and cliffie. And yes, I'm aware that all of this is italic (slanted). This is kind of like a flashback for poor Firepaw. Anyways, please review! Sayonara!**

**Peaceoutyall,**

**Amberstar **


	2. xxCHAPTER 1xx

Hey! I've already got the next chapter! Anyways…here we go. 

CHAPTER 1

_Fireheart slunk out of the warriors' _den. He watched as Whitestorm ordered Darkstripe and Dustpaw to the evening patrol. "Oh, Fireheart!" Whitestorm called. "I want you for the evening patrol. Go with Darkstripe and Dustpaw." Fireheart nodded and watched Whitestorm pad away. Once he was out of earshot, Fireheart groaned. Darkstripe and Dustpaw both hated him. Darkstripe hated Fireheart because of his birth as a kittypet, and Dustpaw because he thought that his love Sandpaw's death was Fireheart's fault, when it really was Dustpaw's.

Fireheart felt a thick pelt brush his. Graystripe had trotted up to his friend and was now staring at Fireheart's blank stare. "What's wrong?" Graystripe asked. Fireheart, still staring at Darkstripe and Dustpaw, responded, "I still can't believe Sandpaw's gone."

Graystripe flicked his fluffy gray tail. "And you say you're not in love."

Fireheart's ears grew hot. "I'm not in love with her!" he hissed. "I'm not in love with any of these stupid Clan cats! In fact, I don't even know why I joined ThunderClan. I didn't know every cat would hate me because of my soft kittypet before life!"

"I don't hate you, Fireheart," Graystripe assured. "You're a great warrior. Being a kittypet doesn't mean you can't train in the ways of a warrior. Unless you really don't want to. You have to want it, Fireheart. You have to want to be a warrior to actually _be_ a warrior."

"You're right," Fireheart sighed. "I just feel that I don't fit in." Graystripe flicked his ears. "Fireheart, if you didn't fit in, would Bluestar have let you join ThunderClan?"

"I thought that was only because she was short on apprentices."

Graystripe rolled his eyes and twitched his ears in annoyance. "Well, yeah. But she wouldn't have let any other kittypet join ThunderClan. She knew you were strong, loyal, caring, generous…that's why she chose you."

"Or maybe you're just mad that Sandpaw _and _Spottedleaf are dead."

Fireheart bristled. "Look, Graystripe. Sandpaw hates me. Spottedleaf is a medicine cat. We don't click! And you know, that's just fine with me! I never loved Spottedleaf like I loved Sandpaw!"

Humor flickered in Graystripe's round yellow eyes. "So you admit it. You're in love with Sandpaw."

"So?" Fireheart raised his hackles. "Is it against the warrior code for a former kittypet to fall in love with a Clanborn cat? Because that's what you're making it sound like."

Graystripe sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry, Fireheart. I just wanted to know if you _really _loved Sandpaw. But I didn't think you would get this mad over it." Graystripe began to stalk over to the fresh-kill pile.

Fireheart felt a pang of sorrow. He and his best friend had just quarreled over loving someone! That was ridiculous. But now he had lost his two loves Spottedleaf and Sandpaw, and it felt as if nothing mattered anymore. He dragged himself back to the warriors' den, where Mousefur and Runningwind were discussing the shortage of prey, and curled up into his nest.

Fireheart felt like he was floating. His paws skimmed the ground soundlessly and lightly as he soared through the forest, quick as lightning. Finally he stopped at the edge of a cliff. "Hello?" Fireheart called. "StarClan? Are you there?" Suddenly, a sweet scent filled his nostrils. The scent wafted over him, carried by the gentle breezes.

"Spottedleaf!" The dark tortoiseshell she-cat padded over to him on the clouds. "Fireheart!" Spottedleaf purred, nuzzling him.

"Spottedleaf, I miss you so much. I mean, Yellowfang is a great medicine cat, but I still miss you." Fireheart closed his eyes and nuzzled her back.

"I am closer to you than you think," Spottedleaf meowed. "What do you mean?" Fireheart asked, puzzled. Spottedleaf flicked her tail and bounded into the air again toward the other side of the cliff. "I…am I supposed to be able to fly?" Fireheart asked. Spottedleaf twitched her whiskers. "Come," she purred, motioning with her tail.

Fireheart took one pawstep off the cliff. Surprisingly, he didn't slip and fall. Fireheart put his other paw over the cliff and realized that he was floating. He leaped off and followed Spottedleaf. Once they had reached the other cliff, Spottedleaf began racing across the fields, her paws barely grazing the ground.

Fireheart didn't struggle to keep up with her. Instead he soared right by her side. Once Spottedleaf stopped, Fireheart gazed down in front of her. A ravine of gorse led to a huge clearing. Gorse and brambles surrounded the clearing. "The ThunderClan camp?" Fireheart realized out loud. Spottedleaf nodded. Then she raced down into the gorse tunnel.

Fireheart was glad to be with Spottedleaf once again, but he had no idea what kind of shock he would face once Spottedleaf showed him what she needed to.

**Not much of an ending, huh? I think it's pretty good, but that's just my opinion. Please review! Tootles!**

**Peaceoutyall,**

**Amberstar **


	3. xxCHAPTER 2xx

**Hi, I'm back. Again. Anyways, here's chapter 2.**

CHAPTER 2

_Fireheart felt as if he were _floating on a cloud after his tortoiseshell friend. The cats entered the camp. It was dark. One single cat-Fireheart recognized the cat as Darkstripe-sat on guard at the camp entrance. Fireheart wondered if the dark tabby tom could see him, but as he raced past, Darkstripe didn't even budged.

Spottedleaf led him past the bramble thicket of the nursery and led him back out of the camp where the cats made their dirt. "Where are we, Spottedleaf?" Fireheart asked, glancing around. He could see a few trees like he always did when he made his dirt, but she was leading him deeper into the forest.

Fireheart suddenly saw a sleeping bundle of dirty ginger, white, and black fur, nestled in a pile of rocky soot, twitching uncomfortably. Spottedleaf nosed the little ball of fur. Two green eyes blinked up at Spottedleaf. It was a kit; about two moons old, all alone lying with the smell of dirt covering her fur.

"Where's my sister?" the tortoiseshell kit squeaked. She eyed Spottedleaf up and down. "Why are there stars in your fur? Where's my sister? And who are you cats?"

"Are you calling me?" Fireheart turned and his blood turned to ice at what he saw. A tiny sand-colored she-cat bounded over to the tortoiseshell she-cat. "Sister, who are these cats? Why are they here? Are they talking to you? Did they hurt you?" the sand-colored kit questioned.

"If you laid a claw on my sister, I will rip you to shreds." The sand-colored she-cat fluffed up her soft ginger kitten fur and bared her tiny, sharp teeth. Fireheart recognized the kit's fiery attitude as Sandpaw's. "Don't worry, little one," Spottedleaf soothed. "I am from StarClan. My name is Spottedleaf."

"StarClan?" the kits echoed. "Spottedleaf? Why do they sound so strange?" Spottedleaf purred. "StarClan are the heavenly warriors above who have died bravely in battle or sickness." The tortoiseshell's eyes widened. "So does that mean you and the ginger tom are dead?" Fireheart swallowed, gathered up his courage, and shook his head. "N-no, I'm not. My name is Fireheart. What are you two kits doing out here?"

Before the kits could answer, the ground began to shake violently. Suddenly, the ground split in half and he felt himself slipping between the thick, steep crack. Fireheart yowled and flailed his paws in the air. "No! I have to save them!" He watched as the two kits spiraled down in the air ahead of him.

"Fireheart? Fireheart!"

The flame-colored warrior awoke, panting and feeling uncomfortable. His mossy nest was messy and ripped apart. His ginger fur was bristled.

He recognized the gentle face of Willowpelt. "Whom do you have to save?" she asked. Fireheart began breathing normally and his fur began to flatten. "Um, no one, Willowpelt. Sorry if I awoke you," Fireheart mumbled as he groomed his unruly fur.

"You didn't," Willowpelt meowed. "Would you come on the dawn patrol with Brackenpaw and me?" Fireheart nodded. "Sure. Let me eat first and then we can be off."

He padded into the clearing and to the fresh-kill pile. He saw Tigerclaw and Goldenflower sharing tongues beneath the Highrock, and Swiftpaw and Dustpaw tussled beside the apprentices' den. Whitestorm and Bluestar shared a vole beside the leaders' den.

He selected a shrew and quickly wolfed it down. Then Fireheart rose to his paws, licking shrew off his whiskers. Cinderpaw was boasting about how she caught a huge sparrow the previous day. Brackenpaw, her brother, just sat and listened, his tail twitching in amusement.

"Brackenpaw!" Willowpelt called. The young golden tom glanced up and Cinderpaw stopped talking. "Dawn patrol?" She flicked her tail. Brackenpaw's eyes gleamed. He nodded and raced over to the light gray warrior.

Soon Fireheart found himself padding through the forest. "What borders are we patrolling?" Fireheart asked Willowpelt. "ShadowClan, of course," Brackenpaw answered for the gray she-cat. "Right?" He glanced up at Willowpelt. The she-cat nodded. "Very good, Brackenpaw. Graystripe is teaching you well."

"Okay, I will be right back," Willowpelt mewed. "I just scented starling." She stalked away deeper into the forest toward ShadowClan border. Brackenpaw sat and wriggled his haunches. "Great StarClan, Brackenpaw, keep still," Fireheart meowed. Brackenpaw nodded and flicked his tail impatiently. Every few heartbeats he would stand up and then sit back down again.

"Brackenpaw, you seem very impatient today," Fireheart meowed. "What's wrong?" Brackenpaw stood up and padded around in circles. "I…I have to make my dirt really bad!" he answered. "Okay, no cat is stopping you," Fireheart meowed. Brackenpaw dipped his head and raced off, his golden-brown tail streaming behind him.

Fireheart sat down again and waited for Willowpelt and Brackenpaw to return. Suddenly, a thin wail of a kit exploded like a clap of high-pitched thunder. It was coming in the direction of where Brackenpaw had gone to make his dirt! _Brackenpaw doesn't wail like a kit!_ Fireheart thought as he pelted through the forest, following the young tom's scent.

Once he arrived, he saw two tiny bodies swarming around something, tiny claws unsheathed. One pelt was sand-colored, while the other was the patched pelt of a tortoiseshell. Underneath the squirming kits was a patch of golden-brown fur.

Fireheart felt his blood run cold. These were the kits from his dream.

**Ooooh, cliffie! I wonder what the kits will say when they see Fireheart! I actually have no idea. Anyways, please review! Pretty please with catnip on top!**

**Peaceoutyall, **

**Amberstar **


	4. xxCHAPTER 3xx

**I've got chapter 3! And I'm so happy that it's spring break, so I get to work all week! WH00T!!!!!**

CHAPTER 3

_Fireheart raced over to the bundle _of fur and ripped the sand-colored kit off of Brackenpaw. She had been digging her teeth into his tail and now had a little blood stained on her front fangs. "Let go of me, you hairy furball!" she squealed in rage, squirming around in Fireheart's jaws.

The tortoiseshell leaped off Brackenpaw and clamped her small teeth into Fireheart's hind leg. "Let go of my sister!" she wailed. "Please!" Fireheart dropped the sandy kit but scooped his paw around her to keep her from attacking Brackenpaw again. She didn't budge, to Fireheart's relief.

Brackenpaw slithered to his paws and shook his coat. A couple strands of fur flew from his golden brown pelt, edged in blood. To Fireheart's surprise, he didn't look angry, but impressed.

"That was some fight," he commented, his amber eyes beaming. "And that move you did, the one where you raced under my paws like a snake and tripped me, that was amazing. I've never seen that one." He stared at the tortoiseshell.

"Hey-have I seen you before?" the sand-colored she-cat asked, turning around to observe Fireheart. The flame-colored tom panicked and shook his head, trying to keep calm. "Uh, no, maybe it was just a Déjà vu?" The kit looked puzzled. "I guess so."

"So what are you doing out here without your mother?" Brackenpaw asked as he swiped a licked paw over his ear. "She left us, so we came over here and stayed here for a little bit. We had a brother, but he died from a sickness during last Frozen-Water," the tortoiseshell explained.

"Frozen-Water?" Fireheart echoed. "You know, when the air gets really cold and the water freezes over the river," the sand-colored kit meowed. "Leaf-bare," Brackenpaw whispered in Fireheart's ear. The flame-colored tom nodded. "We travel a lot, all over the forest," the ginger she-cat went on. "Finally we decided that there weren't as many strange cats here, so we stayed here for a while."

"You sound like a true Clan cat," Brackenpaw decided. "I'm Brackenpaw." The tortoiseshell's eyes glazed over. "Brackenpaw!" she whispered. "Just like the cats in our dream with strange names, like Spotted-something and Fire…heart, I think." Fireheart felt a pang of disturbance.

"A Clan cat sounds fun," the sand-colored kit meowed. "How do we be Clan cats? Is it like a club?" Brackenpaw's amber eyes gleamed with amusement. "No. Just join our Clan. We can get Thornkit, Brightkit, and Cloudkit to show them around," he added to Fireheart. "And maybe even Fernkit and Ashkit."

Fireheart nodded. "But we will have to ask of Bluestar's approval, first. After all, they're not Clanborn."

"Well, neither are you, but Bluestar let you join!" Brackenpaw pointed out.

"True." Fireheart shrugged. "We should find Willowpelt." Brackenpaw nodded and turned to the two kits, which had been standing there looking quite confused. "Stay here for a while. We will come back and fetch you after we find out other Clanmate," Brackenpaw promised. They nodded, and Fireheart led Brackenpaw into the forest once again.

"Where have you been?" Willowpelt fretted. "I have been looking for you for moons!" Fireheart groomed his chest fur. He had crashed into the gray she-cat and had almost swiped claws at her because he thought she was another cat.

"I had to make my dirt, and…" Brackenpaw's eyes gleamed. "I found two kits! They attacked me but Fireheart pulled one off me. Then we asked them to join the Clan!"

Willowpelt eyed Brackenpaw. "I hope you know we have to ask Bluestar first."

Brackenpaw nodded. "I know. We left them at the place where we make out dirt. We promised we would go back and fetch them before returning back to camp."

"Okay, I guess we should get them," Willowpelt meowed. Then she led the two younger cats back towards the dirt-making place.

Fireheart padded into the camp, his jaws flooding with prey. The two kits were following them, each carrying one tiny piece of prey, and Brackenpaw and Willowpelt followed them.

Brackenpaw darted to Bluestar's den, calling her name. Fireheart dropped his catches on the fresh-kill pile and picked up a robin. "Oh, I bet you two are hungry," he meowed, noticing how the kits were staring at the prey. He tossed the robin to them and picked up a thrush for himself. "We can go eat over there." Fireheart flicked his tail towards the nettle clump.

After Fireheart finished he gave himself a throughout washing. Suddenly Brackenpaw and Willowpelt padded out of the leader's den; following them was Bluestar. She leapt onto the Highrock and yowled, "I need to see these two kits I have been informed about."

**Eh. Cliffie. Kinda. You pretty much know what will happen from now. Bluestar will let them join, they will be named Spottedkit and Sandkit, Spottedkit will become the medicine cat apprentice, Fireheart will happily mate Cinderpelt, and they will all live happily ever after, with the way the whole warrior books series went without these two new kits and Squirrelflight and Leafpool? WRONG. Who knows? Maybe Dustpelt won't mate Ferncloud. Maybe Graystripe will decide that he wants his Clan over Silverstream. And maybe they won't be named after Fireheart's loved ones. I know, I'm confuzzling. Tootles! Don't forget to review!**

**Peaceoutyall,**

**Amberstar **


	5. xxCHAPTER 4xx

Here's chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 4

Cinderpaw watched Bluestar announce something about kits. She turned to Swiftpaw. "What is she talking about?" she asked. Swiftpaw shrugged. "I don't know." Cinderpaw glanced back to the Highrock. Fireheart was padding towards the rock with a sand-colored kit and a tortoiseshell kit trailing behind him.

"Did Fireheart have kits, or something?" Dustpaw muttered. Cinderpaw shot the tabby tom a glare, but said nothing. "Who are they?" Brightkit and Thornkit padded up to Cinderpaw. "I want to be their friend!" Brightkit exclaimed, her green eyes gleaming. "We can become apprentices together!" Thornkit pointed out excitedly.

"Maybe." Cinderpaw was silent as Bluestar took the kits into her den. Fireheart followed with Brackenpaw and Willowpelt. "Cinderpaw!" She turned and saw Runningwind bounding over to her. "Evening patrol?" he asked. "I'm taking Longtail too." Cinderpaw nodded and followed the two toms out of the camp.

The sky was turning blood red. The sun was slowly sinking and was just a sliver of red over the horizon. Cinderpaw squinted her eyes against the scarlet light as she followed Runningwind and Longtail. "Where are we patrolling?" Cinderpaw asked Runningwind, her eye on a butterfly.

"The WindClan border," Runningwind answered. "The evening patrol yesterday told me that they scented WindClan on the stepping stones." Cinderpaw batted at the butterfly and crashed into Longtail. The tabby tom hissed. "Watch it!" he spat. "Stop acting like a kit." Cinderpaw flattened her ears and trudged on, letting the butterfly flutter past her head, unharmed.

"Fireheart really needs to take you training," Runningwind meowed. "To keep you busy. I usually see you moping around camp all day, either cleaning out the elders' bedding or getting food for Yellowfang and the queens." Cinderpaw nodded. She was about to defend her mentor when Runningwind went on, "I'm glad that you want to help, though."

"Fireheart is really busy," Cinderpaw admitted. "He goes on patrols all the time, whether it's a hunting patrol or a border patrol. He almost always attends Gatherings. He's just trying to prove himself a loyal warrior. He doesn't want cats thinking he's weak just because he was a kittypet."

"He proved himself loyal when-"

Before Runningwind could finish, Longtail's voice echoed the forest. "Runningwind, come see this!" The swift tabby tom darted after Longtail. Cinderpaw followed, keeping up with Runningwind.

When the two cats reached the pale tabby tom, Cinderpaw saw Longtail standing over something. Runningwind padded over to it and turned to Longtail. "It…it has WindClan scent all over it!" His voice rasped in rage.

Cinderpaw curiously peered around Runningwind. All she could see was a blur of light brown and red fur. "Wh…what is it?" Cinderpaw asked. Runningwind shooed her away. "We're following this scent. Cinderpaw, get back to camp and alert Bluestar. Get Tigerclaw to gather up a bunch of warriors and bring them over here."

Cinderpaw's heart sank. "B…but I want to follow the scent with you." The two tabby warriors ignored the comment. Instead they flared their nostrils and sniffed the ground. Cinderpaw heaved a sigh and raced back to camp.

Cinderpaw felt a golden-brown body slam into her. She stumbled back, startled. "Cinderpaw, are you okay?" the kind voice of Brackenpaw asked. Cinderpaw regained her balance and nodded. "I need to tell Bluestar something!" she cried, trying to hurry to Bluestar's den. "What happened?" Brackenpaw asked, his muscular body blocking her way.

"I must speak with Bluestar!" Cinderpaw repeated furiously. There wasn't much time; Longtail and Runningwind must be getting impatient. "And what might you need to tell her?" A deep voice behind Cinderpaw startled her.

She turned around. It was Tigerclaw. The massive tabby tom narrowed his eyes at her as Cinderpaw cowered beneath his fierce amber gaze. "I…uh…um, Longtail found a piece of prey with WindClan scent all over it. Runningwind sent me back here to fetch some warriors and alert Bluestar. Runningwind and Longtail are tracking the scent now." Cinderpaw explained the situation quickly.

"Whitestorm, Darkstripe, Fireheart, Graystripe, Dustpaw, and Swiftpaw are going on the patrol," Tigerclaw listed. The warriors immediately hurried over into the clearing. "Willowpelt, Mousefur, and Brackenpaw, stay here and guard the camp." The three warriors dipped their heads.

"May I come?" Cinderpaw piped in. Tigerclaw nodded. "Lead the way," Whitestorm meowed. Cinderpaw headed into the forest and quickly caught a trace of Runningwind, Longtail, and WindClan. "They've been here," Dustpaw muttered, but Cinderpaw ignored him and kept on going.

Finally, Swiftpaw ran ahead and found Longtail and Runningwind. Their scents were almost masked with the scents of WindClan and blood. "There's a battle going on!" Graystripe exclaimed, and darted over to the clearing where Swiftpaw stood. Cinderpaw followed Fireheart into the battle.

She saw a dark gray tabby apprentice, Webpaw, racing towards her, his head down low and his fangs gleaming in the moonlight. Cinderpaw remembered a training session she had had with Fireheart. The flame-colored tom told her just to leap out of the way when a cat was charging towards her.

Claws outstretched, Webpaw leaped for Cinderpaw. The dark gray she-cat hopped out of the way and swatted his ear with her claws. But the dark tom was smarter than that. He ducked around and rose onto his hind legs, toppling on top of Cinderpaw. The fluffy gray apprentice squealed in rage and slashed out at his underbelly. He still did not budge.

"Get off me!" Cinderpaw yowled. In a flash of flame-colored fur, a ThunderClan tom zipped past Cinderpaw and knocked Webpaw off of her. Cinderpaw glanced up.

Fireheart.

**Awwwww…in this next chapter you will see a lot of romance going on between Fireheart and Cinderpaw. Yay! Don't forget to review!**

**Peaceoutyall,  
Amberstar **


	6. xxCHAPTER 5xx

Hello

**Hello! Time for another update! Wh00t!**

CHAPTER 5

_Cinderpaw felt blood rush back into _her body. Fireheart rolled over onto his back and let Webpaw soar over him. Fireheart lashed out with an unsheathed forepaw, creating a deep scar in Webpaw's belly. The gray apprentice yowled and dashed back onto the WindClan side of the border.

A light tabby tom Cinderpaw recognized as Tornear immediately attacked Fireheart. "Get off our territory!" Fireheart screeched, knocking Tornear in the side of his head with his paw. Tornear skidded back a few rabbit hops, and Cinderpaw joined in with her mentor, her role model, her true love…

Cinderpaw was startled by her own thoughts. _What am I thinking about? _She wondered. _I don't love Fireheart! I can't! But the way he stares at me with those green eyes, the way he teaches me fighting skills ever so gently, the way he moves so swiftly and gracefully…_

She watched Fireheart as he dodged a blow to the head from Tornear. He swatted at his ear, slicing through it with thorn-sharp claws.

_They all seem so…_

Fireheart toppled onto Tornear and slashed his cheek with his claws. Tornear bit his forepaw.

_So…_

Fireheart shrieked, digging his claws deeper into Tornear's cheek. The WindClan warrior continued to clamp his jaws around Fireheart's paw.

_Lovely…_

"Cinderpaw, help!"

The fluffy gray she-cat snapped out of her trance and quickly regained into battle mode. Screeching, she leaped over to the two fighting cats and sank her teeth into Tornear's tail. Yowling, Tornear let go of Fireheart's paw and darted after a few WindClan cats over the border.

The battle ended as quickly as it started. Cinderpaw sat down, panting, and licked her wounds. She immediately scented a sweet, familiar smell, one that made her head snap up. Fireheart was leaning close to Cinderpaw's face, his green eyes soft with emotion.

"Are you all right? No serious wounds, right?"

Cinderpaw was so caught up in the moment that she forgot how to speak. His scent, his eyes, his personality…everything seemed to perfect about him!

"Cinderpaw?" Fireheart quickly sat back up.

"I'm fine," Cinderpaw replied, trying to be as cool about it as she could be. "And you?" Fireheart lifted his forepaw, dangling and bleeding. "My paw is badly injured, but I'm fine, other than that. Your shoulder looks pretty bad. We should get you to Yellowfang as quickly as possible."

Cinderpaw felt a purr rising in her throat. Fireheart was so passionate and caring. _I wish _I _could be like that. Then maybe, just maybe…he would love me._

Cinderpaw shook her head. That was impossible! Cinderpaw was an apprentice, and Fireheart was a warrior. _He'll never love me!_

Yellowfang tended Cinderpaw's shoulder wound as soon as the patrol returned back. "Just come back if pus starts coming out," Yellowfang had told her.

Now Cinderpaw lay in her next, exhausted. Willowpelt, Brackenpaw, and Mousefur were the only strong ones, so they patrolled the WindClan border once again. She glanced around the den, her eyes resting on the other two apprentices that were in the den. Dustpaw was lying beside her, his dark brown tabby pelt rising up and down as he breathed. Swiftpaw's flank was scarred and his hind leg swathed in cobweb. He lay on Dustpaw's other side.

Cinderpaw thought back after the battle, when Fireheart had brought his face so close to hers, so close she feel his warm breath. _I have to thank him for saving me, _Cinderpaw thought. As quietly as she could, she rose to her tired paws and stepped around Dustpaw and Swiftpaw to reach the entrance.

Darkstripe was at the camp entrance, guarding, but Cinderpaw quietly crept past the dark warrior and into the warriors' den.

Longtail and Whitestorm were asleep around Fireheart. Cinderpaw silently crawled over them, trying to keep her belly fur from brushing against them, and stepped over to Fireheart.  
She rested her gaze upon the flame-colored warrior. His muscular shoulders moved slightly up and down in the rhythm of his breathing. His tail was wrapped around his thighs and twitched every few heartbeats. Cinderpaw felt warmth spread throughout her body. Her legs trembling, she brushed her whiskers along Fireheart's head. He didn't budge.

_Thank you for saving me, Fireheart. I love you._

Cinderpaw felt her belly tighten in fear as he twitched his nose. It was as if he had received her silent message.

_Thank you._

**Nice ending to the chapter, huh? I think so, at least. Please review!**

**Peaceoutyall,**

**Amberstar **


	7. xxCHAPTER 6xx

Yo peeps

**Y****o peeps! I just need to say this. My computer won't let me edit my profile for some odd reason, so I've decided to say this at the beginning of the next chapter of all my stories. I am going to start a new story after ****Untold Secrets**** is finished. It's about three apprentices (Sunpaw, Moonpaw, and Starpaw) making up a prophecy about another apprentice (Cedarpaw). He believes them and leaves the Clan, thinking he is too powerful to stay as an apprentice in a lame Clan. He starts his own Clan and becomes Cedarstar. He gathers up a bunch of rogues and loners and gives them warrior and apprentice names. But when the prophecy about him really comes true, he…well…you will just have to find out at the end of the story! The story will be called ****The Fake Prophecy Book 1: Lies.**** Anyways, here's chapter 6!**

CHAPTER 6

"_Did Bluestar ever say anything about _those two kits that Fireheart found?" Brackenpaw asked through a mouthful of finch. "I don't know," Cinderpaw answered with slight annoyance. "If I knew, wouldn't every cat be talking about it?" Brackenpaw looked taken aback, but he didn't say anything else.

As if on cue, the two kits padded out of the nursery. The sand-colored she-cat was trying to catch her tail with her teeth, while the tortoiseshell she-cat was grooming herself. "Did they get names yet?" Brackenpaw asked. Cinderpaw remembered when Brackenpaw was training with Graystripe that Bluestar had renamed the tortoiseshell kit Dapplekit and the sand-colored kit Sandkit. Fireheart had seemed very upset after the ceremony.

"Yes, Dapplekit and Sandkit," Cinderpaw answered. Brackenpaw flicked his ears. "Oh."

"Did you say my name?" Suddenly Sandkit was beside Cinderpaw and was batting at the gray apprentices' ears with her paws. "Yes, I was just-" Cinderpaw didn't get a chance to finish. Instead Sandkit interrupted, "Are you talking about me behind my back? I hate cats who gossip about Dapplekit and me! Can't we just live like normal Clan kits? Why are we so different to ThunderClan just because we were rogues, or whatever you call them?"

Brackenpaw shook his head. "Cinderpaw was just telling me what your new names are because I was training when the ceremony happened." Sandkit's green eyes gleamed. "Oh. Sorry, then. Hey, do you wanna play with us?" Cinderpaw stood up and stretched, flexing her claws. "Sure."

Thornkit, Brightkit, and Dapplekit were play fighting beside the nursery while Brindleface groomed Fernkit and Ashkit. Thornkit leapt onto Cinderpaw's back and chewed gently on her ear. Cinderpaw acted hurt and defeat and rolled onto her back, gasping, "No! I…I see a light! StarClan…is that you? I…I'm coming! Good-bye, cruel world…"

"Oh no, I killed Cinderpaw!" Thornkit wailed. "Mother, I killed Cinderpaw!" Frostfur purred. "Your sister will be fine. Watch." Thornkit turned back to face his gray sibling, but Cinderpaw quickly leaped up and rolled on the ground, battering gently at Thornkit's flanks with sheathed paws. Thornkit, squealing, twisted and struggled. "Cinderpaw!" he gasped. "You're tickling me! Stop it!"

Suddenly, Brindleface let out a wail of terror. Cinderpaw and Thornkit leapt off of each other. "What's wrong?" Brackenpaw asked, his golden-brown fur bristling and his eyes wide. Brightkit and Dapplekit stood beside him looking terrified.

"ShadowClan cats!" Brindleface yowled. She grabbed Ashkit by the scruff and nudged Fernkit into the nursery. "ShadowClan?" Brackenpaw whipped his head around to stare at the entrance of the camp. The patrol was extremely small and scrawny-looking.

Bluestar and Tigerclaw stepped up to the patrol with Lionheart, Whitestorm, Darkstripe, Longtail, Mousefur, Dustpaw, and Swiftpaw forming the body of the defense patrol.

"What do you want?" Bluestar growled, her claws flexing. Wetfoot was at the head of the patrol, followed by Runningnose and a small brown apprentice. Wetfoot sighed. "We have a shortage of prey in our territory, and the rats have brought poison. We are all slowly starving. Nightstar is very ill and two of our kits have died, as well as an apprentice. Could you please spare us a little bit of territory?"

Cinderpaw felt great sympathy for the starving ShadowClan cats. She hoped Bluestar would agree.

"Of course not!" Tigerclaw spat. "Find yourself some own prey beyond the forest if you must!" Bluestar stepped in front of the massive tabby. "Tigerclaw, let me handle this." She turned to Wetfoot and his patrol. "We wouldn't mind if you took a small bit of territory a few fox lengths after the Thunderpath."

"What?" Tigerclaw hissed. "You're going to let these fools take a chunk of territory?" Bluestar ignored him. "If you are anywhere past 8 fox lengths from the Thunderpath, you will not be allowed to have our territory."

"Thank you," Runningnose meowed, bowing his head. The brown apprentice had gratitude in his eyes, and he bowed his head along with the medicine cat.

"Lionheart, Willowpelt, Cinderpaw," Bluestar listed, "follow them until the Thunderpath." Cinderpaw felt startled. Why had Bluestar chosen her, the weakest apprentice out of all of them? At least, it seemed that way to her.

Cinderpaw followed Lionheart, Willowpelt, and the three ShadowClan cats out of the camp. She wanted to prove to the warriors that she wasn't weak. But her belly tightened as a huge fallen tree log blocked the path ahead. Lionheart, Willowpelt, and the ShadowClan cats cleared it with one great leap, but Cinderpaw climbed over it, her claws scraping the tree bark as she pulled herself over.

"Cinderpaw, you've slowed us down," Lionheart whispered in her ear. "We must be back before moonhigh." Cinderpaw flattened her ears, ashamed. "Sorry." The sun had sunk into the sky and now the tiny sliver of moon cast a small light upon the forest. The ShadowClan cats paid no attention to the ThunderClan cats' conversation and hurried along.

Cinderpaw began to smell the bitter stench of the Thunderpath. But before they could reach it, the apprentice collapsed.

"Oakpaw!" Wetfoot growled. "Get up, now!" He cuffed the apprentice hard on the head. He slowly pulled himself off the ground. Lionheart and Willowpelt exchanged glances. "Would you like us to help Oakpaw?" Willowpelt offered, her eyes beaming with compassion. "This weak apprentice needs no help whatsoever," Wetfoot growled, glaring at Oakpaw. He flattened his ears and trudged on.

Cinderpaw felt frozen in her tracks, but she forced herself to move on. Why had Wetfoot treated this apprentice so rudely? Was it just crankiness? Or something else?

**Long chapter, huh? Anyways, I have befriended Song of the Wild and Tainted Lullaby/Follower. I have apologized to xx-The Breeze-xx and Tawny Piglet, but they have yet to reply. Bye!**

**Peaceoutyall,**

**xx-Starfall-xx**

**(Yes, I have changed my name!)**


	8. xxCHAPTER 7xx

Hey

**Hey! Here's chapter 7!**

CHAPTER 7

_Fireheart watched his apprentice tussle with _Swiftpaw. Swiftpaw's mentor Longtail was there, along with Darkstripe and Dustpaw. Cinderpaw seemed to concentrate less and less with every move she made. Finally, Swiftpaw tripped Cinderpaw from under her hind paws and pinned her against the ground. Fireheart sighed.

"Well done, Swiftpaw," Longtail commented. "Get up off of Cinderpaw, now." The black and white tom triumphantly stepped off the dark gray she-cat She laid on the ground a heartbeat longer when she slowly climbed to her paws. Fireheart pulled his apprentice to the side while Dustpaw and Swiftpaw began a mock fight.

"What were you doing out there? You were completely unfocused!" Fireheart scolded. Cinderpaw hung her head. "I'm sorry, Fireheart."

Fireheart's forest green gaze softened. "Do you have something you need to talk to me about?"

Cinderpaw hesitated as if she was thinking about something, but, without looking up, she mewed, "No, Fireheart. I guess I'm just…tired, is all."

The green-leaf sun beat down on Fireheart's back, making it burn. He shifted from paw to paw uncomfortably. "Are you ill? Go back to camp and see Yellowfang." Cinderpaw hastily shook her head. "No, Fireheart! I'm fine, really. Let me stay! Please?"

Fireheart's eyes darted to the trees behind the training hollow and nodded slowly. "All right, Cinderpaw. But please, pay attention to what you're doing when you fight next time," he sighed.

"Of course!" Cinderpaw's huge blue eyes widened and were extremely bright. "I'll try my best." She raced back over to Longtail and Darkstripe, who were calling a finish to the mock battle. Dustpaw had won.

_Now Cinderpaw has to fight with Dustpaw,_ Fireheart thought worriedly. _She doesn't seem ill. She just…must be tired. Or thinking about Sandkit and Dapplekit. She really likes them…_

Darkstripe called, "Go!" and the battle began. Dustpaw lunged at Cinderpaw, but the gray apprentice slithered under his belly and tripped him. _That's the move Sandkit used on Brackenpaw!_ Fireheart thought in shock. _She must've taught it to Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw._

As Dustpaw gathered himself off the ground, Cinderpaw leaped at the dark tabby and rolled over in the sand. Her sheathed hind paws battered at his belly and she held him down with one paw and batted his ears with her other paw.

Dustpaw pushed his hind legs up, which sent Cinderpaw crashing into the ground. Dustpaw pinned her down. Fireheart sighed in frustration and embarrassment.

"Great job, Dustpaw and Cinderpaw!" Fireheart called, pushing away his annoyed thoughts. "I've never seen that move, Cinderpaw, the one where you slid underneath him and tripped him. I like it." Cinderpaw enjoyed his praise but still looked deep in thought. "Cinderpaw, why don't we go hunting?" Fireheart suggested. She nodded and bounded across the sandy clearing.

The whole time Fireheart and Cinderpaw were hunting, he wanted to ask his apprentice about what was bothering her. She managed to catch a shrew while Fireheart caught a rabbit and a sparrow.

The two cats returned to camp with their prey swaying in their jaws. They dropped it on the fresh-kill pile and Fireheart pulled his apprentice aside once again. "Today is just not your day," he told her. "Don't be discouraged. Maybe you should see Yellowfang." Cinderpaw stared at her paws.

"Okay, Fireheart. I'm sorry," she replied slowly. "I'll go see Yellowfang right away." Cinderpaw padded away, her tail drooping and her ears flattened against her head, towards the medicine den.

Fireheart knew Cinderpaw wasn't ill. Why had he sent her? Maybe so she could sleep peacefully.

"I hope she's not ill."

A voice startled Fireheart. He spun around and looked down. Dapplekit was standing at his paws, looking worried.

"She's not," Fireheart assured the tortoiseshell kit.

Dapplekit closed her eyes and reopened them, her eyes shining like tiny green orbs. "You're right," Dapplekit squeaked. "She's not ill. She's just worried about something."

Fireheart was shocked. How did she know that? She hadn't even seen Cinderpaw that sun-high, much less, that whole day. He nodded and backed away to the fresh-kill pile. He bumped into a cat.

"Fireheart, there you are!" It was Graystripe. "I've been looking all over for you. Have you seen Brackenpaw? I want to take him out training."

"He went on the dawn patrol with Mousefur and Whitestorm. He should be returning shortly," Runningwind meowed, joining the two toms.

Graystripe moaned. "This will probably be my only free day. I guess I'll take him out hunting after the dawn patrol. We can train tomorrow."

Graystripe grabbed a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile and turned to Fireheart. "Want to share?" Fireheart nodded, realizing how hungry he was. Hunger gnawed at his belly like claws. He dug into the squirrel and finished it with Graystripe in a few bites.

Fireheart was sharing tongues with Graystripe when Brackenpaw returned to the camp. It was the middle of sun-high. Longtail and Willowpelt were about to head out on a border patrol when the dawn patrol came back.

"Brackenpaw!" Graystripe called. The ginger apprentice dashed to his mentor. "Hello, Fireheart and Graystripe!" he chirped.

"Want to go hunting?" Graystripe asked.

"Sure! Can we bring Cinderpaw?"

Graystripe glanced over at Fireheart. "May we borrow her for the hunting patrol?" Fireheart shook his head. "She went to see Yellowfang after training."

Brackenpaw looked concerned. "Why?" He twitched his tail.

"She was really tired and couldn't seem to concentrate during training or hunting. All she caught was a measly shrew! She's usually a good hunter and I was worried, so I sent her to Yellowfang."

"I guess she needed the rest," Graystripe meowed. "It was for the best."

Fireheart nodded, but he couldn't help wondering what had been on Cinderpaw's mind.

**Meh. Not much of an ending there, now was that? Well…yeah…review so I don't throw rocks at you. Just kidding. I don't beg for reviews. I just like throwing rocks at people…I mean, uh…things. Adios!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	9. xxCHAPTER 8xx

Hey

**Hey! I've been really slow at updating my stories, and I've kind of been typing up one part of one story, and then hopping over to another without finishing the first one…it's just been crazy. I'm getting braces in July or August and I'm pissed because I have to get an expander first. Anyways, instead of pouring out my life here, I'm just going to get started…**

…CHAPTER 8…

_Cinderpaw felt the sun shining on _her back as she hurried into the forest. She was retrieving more moss for the elders with Brackenpaw. Her brother was racing alongside her, his amber eyes gleaming.

"Here's some!" Brackenpaw called. Cinderpaw glanced up to see her golden-brown brother clawing at moss at the base of a tree trunk. Cinderpaw followed him and scraped off thin sheets of the damp, green plant until she had enough for a couple of elders.

Brackenpaw was already shaking the water off of it, and Cinderpaw did the same. "Are you okay, Cinderpaw?" Brackenpaw asked with a mouthful of moss. "You seem a little slower today."

Cinderpaw tried her best to look cheerful. "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry." She trotted back into camp after Brackenpaw before being bowled over by Fireheart. "Ouch!" Cinderpaw squealed as her back slid on the rough ground of the gorse tunnel.

"Sorry, Cinderpaw!" Fireheart panted and helped his apprentice up before dashing away after Whitestorm, Tigerclaw, Mousefur, and Graystripe.

"What's happening?" Brackenpaw wondered aloud, his amber eyes widening. "I don't know," Cinderpaw meowed, wincing, as she picked up her moss. Suddenly, Brackenpaw let out a _mrrow_ of laughter.

"What?" Cinderpaw asked. "Your back is covered in soot!" Brackenpaw giggled. He helped brush it off his sister's back before hurrying back into camp. "Hurry up, the elders will probably be getting restless."

Cinderpaw scrabbled across the clearing and into the elders' den. Halftail and Patchpelt were sharing tongues, while One-Eye and Dappletail were wolfing down a squirrel. Smallear was asleep.

"We brought your bedding," Brackenpaw meowed, dropping the bundles of moss at his paws. "Cinderpaw, I'll take the old bedding out. You put the new bedding in." Cinderpaw nodded and watched her brother scrape together the moss underneath Dappletail and One-Eye.

He grabbed another slab of moss, Patchpelt's, before returning to the forest to take it out. Cinderpaw bundled some moss underneath One-Eye and Dappletail.

Finally the two apprentices were finished, so they raced outside into the clearing to see Cloudkit, Sandkit, Thornkit, and Brightkit tackling Dustpaw, their tiny tails waving out behind them. Dapplekit watched in amusement, her ears and whiskers twitching. Dustpaw hissed and knocked Sandkit off his back. He swatted Brightkit off his tail and dragged himself to the fresh-kill pile.

Finally, he snapped, "Would you get off of me?" All five kits (the other three had joined back in) slid off his back and stared up at him, wide-eyed, their fur bristling. Dustpaw sniffed, grabbed a thrush, and stalked into the apprentices' den.

"He's no fun!" Sandkit wailed. "Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw are more fun."

Cinderpaw felt a purr rising in her throat. Brackenpaw padded over to the kits and let out a shriek as they attacked him with small claws and teeth. Thornkit clamped his jaws over Brackenpaw's ear, while Dapplekit clawed at his tail. Brackenpaw batted Brightkit away from his paws and rolled onto his back, squishing Thornkit underneath his weight.

Squealing, Thornkit crawled out from under Brackenpaw and jumped onto the golden apprentice's belly. Sandkit let out a fierce yowl and clawed wherever she could reach. Cinderpaw grabbed Dapplekit by the scruff and dropped her onto the ground.

"Hi, Cinderpaw!" the tiny tortoiseshell kit squeaked.

Cinderpaw purred. "Have you been thinking about your apprenticeship?"

Dapplekit looked confused. "Yes, don't we become apprentices in about…2 moons?" Cinderpaw nodded.

"You have the choice to be either a warrior or a medicine cat." Dapplekit's eyes widened. "You mean…we can choose?"

"Of course you can choose," Cinderpaw meowed. Sandkit bounced off of Brackenpaw and over to Cinderpaw. "Cool! I want to be a warrior! What do you want to be, Dapplekit?"

The tortoiseshell she-kit didn't say anything. "I don't know what I want to be, but my destiny will lead me somewhere."

Sandkit looked curious. "You know what you're going to be? What am I going to be?" She gave a tiny bounce.

Cinderpaw left the two sisters to their own excitement and was suddenly bowled over again by Fireheart.

"Sorry, Cinderpaw," Fireheart mewed hastily. "Bluestar! Come quickly!"

The blue-gray she-cat swiftly exited her den. "What is it, Fireheart?"

"RiverClan is attacking along the border," Fireheart panted. "They're invading the Sunningrocks and the training hollow!"

Cinderpaw gasped. "I need a party of warriors and apprentices," Fireheart told Bluestar.

"I want Longtail, Willowpelt, Dustpaw, Brackenpaw, and Swiftpaw."

Cinderpaw was crushed that Fireheart didn't want her in his patrol, but she stayed sitting beside the kits. Cloudkit darted after Fireheart. "Can I come?" the white tom begged. "Please, Fireheart? I want to help fight RiverClan! Please, let me come!"

Brindleface grabbed her foster kit by the scruff and dragged him into the nursery. Frostfur called Brightkit and Thornkit back into the nursery, so they followed Brindleface, their eyes wide and tails sticking straight up.

Cinderpaw bounded over to Bluestar. "What should I do?" she asked.

Bluestar stared warmly at Cinderpaw. "Guard the camp with Runningwind and Darkstripe. I'll be in my den, if you need anything." Quickly, the blue-gray she-cat hurried into her den.

Cinderpaw stared after her leader in awe. She wasn't even going to help defend the camp? Sighing, the dark gray apprentice padded over to the two remaining warriors in the camp.

"I'll guard the nursery," Cinderpaw mewed. Darkstripe nodded. "I'll help. Runningwind, take your stand at the elders' den."

The tabby tom dipped his head and slipped to the entrance of the elders' den.

Suddenly, a yowl split the silent forest, and it was coming from the direction of RiverClan territory!

**Ugh. Crappy chapter, I know. I kind of have writer's block, and I'm just trying to get finished with this story so I can move onto ****The Fake Prophecy****. I hope that story will be a hit! Adios, people!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	10. xxCHAPTER 9xx

**Hey, I'm going to be updating this quite much, so…expect a lot of updates.**

…CHAPTER 9…

_Cinderpaw stared at the entrance of _the camp, her dark gray fur bristling in fear. What was that screech?

Dapplekit darted out from the nursery, her green eyes wide. "Cinderpaw!"

Cinderpaw turned. "Dapplekit, you have to stay inside the nursery!" The tortoiseshell was so terrified that she was trembling in fright.

"But…but a cat just lost their life!"

The gray she-cat's blood ran cold as the stared at the young kit. "Wh…who? How do you know?"

Dapplekit hung her head. "The cat was golden-spotted. She looked really fierce. Tigerclaw killed her."

Cinderpaw racketed her brain, trying to think of a golden-spotted RiverClan she-cat. Leopardfur, the deputy!

"StarClan, no," Cinderpaw murmured. Her neck fur prickled and she shuddered.

"Who is it?" Dapplekit asked. Cinderpaw shook her head. "No one, nothing. Just go back to the nursery." Nodding, Dapplekit slipped back into the bramble thicket, where Brindleface was anxiously calling her name.

The green-leaf sun was setting, casting long shadows along the ground. The red light washed over the camp. Cinderpaw let it bathe her in luminosity.

Beside her, Darkstripe paced back and forth in front of the nursery entrance, his dark fur bristling and his claws unsheathed, ready to sink them into the fur of any enemy who dare set paw inside the camp.

Cinderpaw wondered why the gray tabby was so tense. The chances of any RiverClan cats attacking were one in a million, probably. She gazed at him, tilting her head to the side, and realized he was as handsome as Fireheart, if not more.

She shook her head, clearing her mind of any thoughts of love. Cinderpaw loved Fireheart, not Darkstripe! Besides, even if there was the slightest chance of an attack, she had to stay focused.

Yet there were hardly any cats in the camp to fight if needed. Two warriors, an apprentice, a leader, a medicine cat (even if she wasn't allowed to fight), and some queens. The only queen who couldn't fight was Frostfur, because of her pregnancy. Cinderpaw glanced at the entrance again, waiting for any signs of the returning patrol. She was so sleepy, so bored…

Cinderpaw jolted awake to the sound of shuffled pawsteps. Night had fallen, and the patrol was just approaching the camp.

"Tigerclaw!" Bluestar bolted out of her den and over to her deputy. The huge tabby was limping; one of his hind legs dangled in the air uselessly, blood pouring out of a wound on it. His ear and his muzzle were clawed, and claw marks scored across his back.

"Did we win?" the blue-gray leader demanded to her deputy hopefully. Cinderpaw pricked her ears; not for Tigerclaw's response, but for any sign of Fireheart's voice.

She let a sigh escape her lips as she saw the flame-colored warrior sit down in the camp and start licking his wounds. Ginger fur was torn from his shoulder, and his tail was missing fur as well. His belly was scratched and oozing blood.

Cinderpaw raced over to her mentor, her heart pounding wildly. "Fireheart, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. Fireheart glanced up at his apprentice, his forest green eyes glazed with pain.

Her heart seemed to stop, until he gave a small nod and continued rasping his tongue over his shoulder.

"Fireheart?" Was he angry with her? Or was he just tired, or in pain to speak?

He didn't look up. Cinderpaw stood there until all his wounds were clean. Her paws shuffled anxiously for his response.

"Fireheart," she whispered.

The flame-colored tom finally whipped his gaze over to hers. Their eyes locked, and Cinderpaw felt as if she could stare into those pools of forest green forever.

"Yes, Cinderpaw?"

She leaned closer to his ear. Her tongue tingled with the words that were ready to spill out of her mouth any second. She gathered her courage, and breathed, "I-"

"Fireheart, let me put some herbs on that shoulder. It looks pretty scratched up."

The raspy voice of Yellowfang startled Cinderpaw and interrupted her affectionate whisper.

The dark gray she-cat dipped her head to Cinderpaw. "You didn't fight, did you?" Cinderpaw shook her head and stared at her paws patiently.

Yellowfang nodded, chewed up some herbs, and spat them down on Fireheart's tail. She began cautiously wrapping cobwebs around it until it stopped bleeding. She did the same for his shoulder and to his belly, but with dock leaves.

As the gray medicine cat moved onto the next cat, Cinderpaw leaned closer to Fireheart again. "Did she give you poppy seeds?" she asked him. He nodded, and she sighed in relief. She hated seeing Fireheart in pain, much less any cat.

"You were saying?" Fireheart meowed. Cinderpaw stared at him in confusion. "What were you saying before Yellowfang came to me?" he asked.

"Oh. That." Cinderpaw drew in a deep breath, but all her courage had drained from her. She found herself stumbling over her words, and what she managed to get out was: "I…um, Fireheart, I…you…I really…I, uh…"

Cinderpaw couldn't finish. Bluestar had called a meeting from the top of the Highrock. She hung her head in annoyance and shame of herself, and followed the limping Fireheart to the crowd of cats.

"The battle with RiverClan ended in a death," Bluestar announced. Cinderpaw glanced around the clearing. All the ThunderClan cats looked frightened and sad, as if they thought one from their own Clan had died.

_No! A RiverClan cat died, not a ThunderClan!_ Cinderpaw wanted to shout, but she knew the cats would question her knowledge. If she told them, she would be accused of spying.

"The RiverClan deputy, Leopardfur, was killed tonight under the claws of another RiverClan warrior, Blackclaw."

Cinderpaw gasped. That was a lie! _Tigerclaw_ had killed Leopardfur!

**Not much of an ending, once again. Poor Leopardfur! I really hated her as a warrior, but as a leader, she pwns. I just wanted to see whom Crookedstar would choose as a deputy if there were no Leopardfur. I'm updating a lot, so remember to check back here every once in a while. Sayonara.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	11. xxCHAPTER 10xx

I already have chapter 10

**I already have chapter 10! By the way, Fireheart doesn't suspect anything evil about Tigerclaw. He is just a regular cat…with unusually long claws.**

…CHAPTER 10…

_Fireheart's heart quickened. Blackclaw, that filthy _traitor. It was against the warrior code to kill enemies in battle unless the threat is a badger, a fox, a rat, or a hawk, but it was even worse to kill a cat from your own Clan!

Fireheart let out a growl. Leopardfur would've made a fine leader, if Blackclaw had let her live. Graystripe brushed his best friend's flank with his thick gray pelt for comfort, while Cinderpaw just stared up at him with round, blue eyes.

"We grieve for Leopardfur, but she is not one of our own Clan," Bluestar meowed. "I'm sure Longtail and Darkstripe agree when I say I think it's time Dustpaw and Swiftpaw were made warriors."

Fireheart felt his heart sink. If Sandpaw were still here, she'd be up there with the two apprentices, gazing down at her Clanmates proudly, her ginger fur bathed in silver light from the almost-full moon.

"Swiftpaw, Dustpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Bluestar recited the traditional words always spoken before a cat is made an apprentice or warrior.

The two toms dipped their heads and mewed in unison, "I do."

"By the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names," Bluestar announced, her blue eyes shining with pleasure and wisdom. "Swiftpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Swiftstep. StarClan honor your courage and loyalty, and we welcome you as full warrior of ThunderClan."

The black and white newly named warrior bowed his head and gave Bluestar a respectful lick on her shoulder. He sprang off the Highrock, his chin raised. Longtail beamed with pride and happiness for his previous apprentice.

"Dustpaw, you will be known as Dustpelt," Bluestar declared. "StarClan honor your loyalty and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

She rested her chin on Dustpelt's head as he licked his leader's shoulder, then padded proudly off the huge rock.

"Swiftstep! Dustpelt! Swiftstep! Dustpelt!"

The crowd of cats cheered the new warriors' names in joy.

"Before I end this meeting, I want to make another apprentice a warrior," Bluestar meowed, her voice grief-filled. At first Fireheart thought his leader was talking about Cinderpaw or Brackenpaw, but they had been apprentices for barely a moon, with no assessments.

"Sandpaw."

The name trickled through Fireheart's mind like a creek, washing over pebbles. He could hear Sandpaw's voice mewing, "Fireheart…"

"She died fighting in a battle with ShadowClan," Bluestar announced, her eyes dull, "like a noble, loyal warrior. She deserves her warrior name. I hope StarClan approve of her warrior name. Sandpaw, from this moment, will be known as Sandstorm."

"Sandstorm! Sandstorm!"

The cheering was even louder than it was for Swiftstep and Dustpelt. Fireheart cheered loudest. The cat's voices rose up into the sky, where the StarClan cats would cheer for Sandstorm as well. Fireheart could almost see her pale green eyes shining in pleasure and pride.

She was a very noble warrior indeed.

"Also, we have some other news," Bluestar went on. Fireheart sat back down and curled his tail around his paws. This meeting was going to be a long one.

"Three kits have reached their sixth moon. Thornkit, Brightkit, and Cloudkit."

Fireheart glanced up and purred as he saw his fluffy white nephew bounding onto the Highrock, followed by Thornkit and Brightkit. Cinderpaw looked happy as well for her siblings.

"Thornkit, Cloudkit, Brightkit, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Bluestar asked. The kits looked ready to burst with excitement, especially Cloudkit, whose blue eyes were wide and his tail twitching.

"From this moment, now until you earn your warrior name, Thornkit will be known as Thornpaw." Fireheart could see the resemblance between Brackenpaw and Thornpaw; they both had golden-brown tabby fur. "He will be mentored by Mousefur."

The dusky brown she-cat dipped her head and scurried onto the Highrock, where she touched noses with her new apprentice and walked him off.

"Brightkit, you will be known as Brightpaw," Bluestar proclaimed. "Your mentor will be Whitestorm." The ginger and white-patched she-cat widened her eyes. Whitestorm was a wise senior warrior.Brightpaw pressed her nose against the huge white tom's, and let him escort her off the large rock.

"Cloudkit, you'll be known as Cloudpaw. Your mentor will be Tigerclaw."

Fireheart saw jealousy rage in Thornpaw's amber eyes. Cloudpaw gasped and bounced a little. Tigerclaw prowled onto the Highrock, dipped his respects to Bluestar, and touched his nose to Cloudpaw's.

Thornpaw narrowed his eyes, and Mousefur rested her tail on his shoulder, looking hurt. Fireheart understood why she would be hurt. Her apprentice wanted someone else to mentor him. If Cinderpaw wanted that, Fireheart would be hurt as well.

Fireheart felt something fluffy brushing his haunch. He glanced down to see a thick-furred dark gray tail rubbing his flank. Cinderpaw glanced over at him and drew her tail back, looking embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Finally, Bluestar dismissed the cats. Tigerclaw was already ordering patrols. "Runningwind, Darkstripe, and Cinderpaw, take the evening patrol, since you didn't fight. Search mainly along the RiverClan border."

Fireheart heard his apprentice let out a long sigh. He wondered what she had wanted to tell him earlier before Yellowfang came, and before Bluestar held the ceremonies.

Cinderpaw quickly followed Darkstripe and Runningwind out of the camp. Fireheart couldn't help noticing how spectacularly her fur gleamed in the moonlight.

**I must be the Queen of Bad Endings. Oh, so now Fireheart is beginning to form some affection for his apprentice. Oooh. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	12. xxCHAPTER 11xx

Hello everyone

**Hello everyone. I'm very pissed because some of the songs on my iTunes are flipping and messing up. It's quite annoying. Anyways, here's chapter…11, I believe.**

…CHAPTER 11…

_Cinderpaw felt her belly fur brushing _the damp ground as she stalked forward. Her ears swiveled, her nostrils flared, her claws flexed. She pounced on the unsuspecting water vole, which squealed until Cinderpaw bit down hard on its neck.

She proudly lifted head, the freshly caught water vole dangling from her jaws. Somewhere up ahead, Runningwind called, "Hurry up, Cinderpaw! We're heading farther down the river towards WindClan."

The gray apprentice didn't dare bury her prey so close to the river; a RiverClan patrol could cross the river, grab her vole, and wander back into his own territory.

"May I go bury my vole?" Cinderpaw asked Darkstripe when she'd caught up to the rest of her patrol. Darkstripe nodded. "Hurry back."

Cinderpaw scampered across the bloodstained Sunningrocks. The stones felt extremely cold as her paws touched them. She hurried over the training hollow, paws skidding in the slippery sand, and she reached the first tree that started the rest of the forest beyond the hollow. She quickly scraped some sand and soot over her vole and turned back around.

Cinderpaw paced after Runningwind silently but quickly. It was a little after moonhigh, and Runningwind broke the silence by meowing, "There's a Gathering tomorrow night."

_Finally,_ Cinderpaw thought grimly. Hopefully Bluestar would pick Brackenpaw and her for the Gathering; both the young apprentices had never been to one. They'd become apprentices the day after the last Gathering, which had made Cinderpaw quite angry.

The patrol skirted the Owl Tree and headed down the ShadowClan border.

"Wait, Darkstripe!" Runningwind hissed. The patrol halted.

"Remember Bluestar allowed ShadowClan to have a part of our territory."

Memories flooded back to Cinderpaw. Of course! She had forgotten. Now, where had that new border been set?

As if he had read her mind, Darkstripe mewed, "Oh, right. Thank you, Runningwind. Bluestar had said eight fox-lengths away from the Thunderpath."

Cinderpaw felt dread creeping up her throat like bile. They were currently in their own territory, but at the very second it was ShadowClan's!  
Runningwind and Darkstripe both bolted away from the Thunderpath and back into the trees that were closer to the ThunderClan camp. Cinderpaw tried to dart after them, but she already felt a heavy weight on top of her.

"Get off our territory, ThunderClan cat!" a voice hissed. Instantly in battle mode and despite sleepiness, Cinderpaw rolled onto her back, squishing the ShadowClan warrior underneath her. "This was our territory first!" she yowled.

She noticed two other ShadowClan cats breaking out of the darkness. One was Stumpytail, a senior warrior, looking healthy as ever, and the other was Oakpaw, that same apprentice that had been treated badly by his mentor Wetfoot. All the cats looked strong and well fed.

"Let it go, Littlecloud," Stumpytail hissed. Cinderpaw jumped off the small tabby and let him climb to his paws. She turned and faced Stumpytail, bristling her fur and baring her teeth menacingly.

"Oh, you're just an apprentice," Littlecloud growled. Oakpaw nodded. "Her name is Cinderpaw," he piped up.

Stumpytail hushed the small tom and turned to Cinderpaw. "What are you doing on ShadowClan territory?"

Cinderpaw took a pawstep back. "It was our territory first, so don't call it that!" She had no right disrespecting a senior warrior from another Clan, but she had to if she wanted to defend herself.

Stumpytail narrowed his eyes, and Cinderpaw kept going, forcing her voice to be as calm as possible. "I'm on the evening patrol with two other warriors. We had forgotten that Bluestar had let you take a part of _our _territory. We wandered into this part, and one of our warriors reminded the leader of the patrol that Bluestar had, and they both took off without me."

Stumpytail stared at her with cold, amber eyes, and Cinderpaw tried not to flinch. "Very well," he meowed coldly, turning away.

"Wait," Cinderpaw mewed desperately. "Are you going to tell Nightstar?" Stumpytail and Littlecloud exchanged a glance.

"No, I suppose not," Littlecloud answered for the senior warrior, who just nodded. The patrol hurried back into their part of the territory.

"Cinderpaw! Cinderpaw?"

The gray apprentice turned to see Runningwind and Darkstripe racing over to her.

"Are you okay? Did they attack you?" Darkstripe asked, and said the second sentence coldly.

Cinderpaw nodded. "They attacked me, but the attack was short. Littlecloud just jumped onto me, and I squashed him by rolling on my back." Cinderpaw quickly recalled the conversation she'd had with Stumpytail.

"So they looked healthy?" Darkstripe snarled. "They looked strong and well fed?" His hackles were beginning to rise, and his dark blue eyes were gleaming with fury. "They…they took advantage of Bluestar's kindness!"

Cinderpaw began to realize what Darkstripe was saying. Bluestar had only lent them the territory until they were healthy. The patrol looked healthy and strong, so they shouldn't need the territory anymore!

Cinderpaw cursed at herself silently for not noticing this before the ShadowClan patrol had left her. Why hadn't she? It was clear that the cats had full bellies again.

Runningwind pushed his way through the two cats and mewed grimly, "We are letting Bluestar know about this."

**NOTE: Yes, I'm aware that Nightstar only received one life, but since Tigerclaw isn't evil in this story, he received nine.**

**Wow, this was a very dramatic chapter. I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	13. xxCHAPTER 12xx

Here's chapter 12

**Here's chapter 12. This one will have…stuff that doesn't need to be seen between Fireheart and Cinderpaw, so I've decided to use the POV of Sandkit.**

…CHAPTER 12…

"_Take that, you ShadowClan cat!" Sandkit _squealed as she batted at Fernkit's ear. The speckled gray she-kit reached out a paw and tripped Sandkit stealthily. The light ginger she-kit let out a startled squeak and jumped to her paws again. Dapplekit was beside her sister, lashing her tail and bearing tiny, pointed white teeth.

"Sandkit, Dapplekit," Frostfur called, dropping a mouse in front of their small paws. "You can share this mouse." Her slightly swollen belly kept her from walking too fast, so she turned slowly and padded to the pile again to get something for her.

"How are Bramblekit and Tawnykit?" Dapplekit asked Frostfur. Goldenflower had two very young kits that were about only half a moon old, not old enough to play. Sandkit twitched her ears as she swallowed a bite of the delicious mouse.

"They're well," Frostfur meowed. "Tawnykit is very feisty. She's tried to escape Goldenflower a few times, but one of us always catches her."

Suddenly, Dapplekit jerked her head up. Her green eyes were glowing slightly, and Sandkit knew that meant she was either having a vision, or someone was approaching.

Sandkit watched as the evening patrol returned to camp. Cinderpaw had a vole in her mouth, while Darkstripe and Runningwind both looked furious. The two toms stalked into Bluestar's den, while Cinderpaw dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile.

Sandkit jumped up and darted over to the gray apprentice excitedly. "Hi, Cinderpaw!" she mewed, bouncing. "How was your patrol?"

Cinderpaw gave the kit a weak smile. "It was fine." She slumped into the apprentices' den.

Dapplekit padded over to her crestfallen sister and gave her a lick on the ear. "She's just tired." Sandkit nodded and turned back to the queens and the kits.

"Being an apprentice must be fun!" Sandkit beamed as she rolled onto her back. The sun warmed her belly, and she squirmed in pleasure. Dapplekit nodded and swiped a licked paw over her ear.

"Hey, Brackenpaw!" she mewed. The golden-brown tabby tom stopped padding out of the apprentices' den in surprise. The tortoiseshell kit had greeted him even before he had taken a pawstep out of the den.

"Hi, Dapplekit and Sandkit," he meowed slowly. Sandkit flipped over on her belly and rose to her paws. "Are you on the dawn patrol?"

Brackenpaw shook his head. "The dawn patrol already left. I'm going training today, though."

"Cool!" Sandkit squealed. "Can we come and watch?" Brackenpaw looked unsure.

"We'd have to ask Bluestar and one of the queens."

"Can you?" Dapplekit asked. Brackenpaw shook his head. "Go ask one of the queens."

Sandkit jumped to her paws and raced into the nursery. She could smell warm milk and hear the tiny mewling of Tawnykit and Bramblekit. She searched around for Brindleface, and saw the tabby she-cat grooming Ashkit gently.

Sandkit jumped over Speckletail, who hissed and tucked her young kit Snowkit closer to her belly.

"Brindleface, can you take us to the training hollow and let us watch Brackenpaw's training session?" she asked once she had reached the queen.

Fernkit and Ashkit pricked their ears. "Can we go too?" Fernkit asked.

Brindleface gave Fernkit a lick between the ears and glanced up at Sandkit. "I can't. Ashkit is a bit feverish now that leaf-fall has begun. I don't want to leave him." Ashkit let out a tiny mew in protest.

Ashkit was fine. He had played with Sandkit and Dapplekit that morning. Sandkit knew Brindleface just didn't want to go. Her tail dropped and she sadly padded out of the nursery.

"Well, what did she say?" Dapplekit asked. "She says Ashkit is sick and she doesn't want to leave him."

Dapplekit closed her eyes and reopened them. They glowed green. "He's not sick. He's healthier than ever." Sandkit nodded. She was aware that her sister could read other cats' feelings.

"She just doesn't want to take us!" Sandkit hissed, and clawed at the ground. She pricked her ears as she saw Fireheart hurrying into the apprentices' den, looking anxious. Before Sandkit could call out to him, he disappeared inside.

"Hm, I wonder what Fireheart wants in the apprentices' den," Sandkit mewed. Dapplekit's eyes glowed again, but she said nothing this time.

Sandkit let out a yowl and bit down hard on the apprentice's ear. He twisted his body around, trying to snap at the kit's tail, but Sandkit was quicker than that. She let go and extended a paw to trip him, like Fernkit had done to her.

"Take that, you ShadowClan cat!" Sandkit yowled, as her signature battle cry.

"Come now, Sandkit and Dapplekit," Frostfur called. "Leave Thornpaw be."

Sandkit let out a sigh and plopped herself into a sitting position. Thornpaw nodded to the kits before padding after Brackenpaw, Graystripe, and Mousefur.

"Where's Cloudpaw?" Sandkit asked Dapplekit. Dapplekit blinked slowly. "He's on a hunting patrol with…with Tigerclaw and…"

The tortoiseshell seemed to be having trouble reading Cloudpaw's feelings. "That's okay," Sandkit assured her sister. "You don't have to know where he is."

Suddenly, Bluestar let out her famous gathering call. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Cats poured into the clearing and below the huge rock, waiting for Bluestar to begin.

"We have a Gathering tonight," the blue-gray she-cat announced. "I'm taking Whitestorm, Longtail, Willowpelt, Graystripe, Fireheart, Swiftstep, Dustpelt, Cinderpaw, Brackenpaw, Halftail, Smallear, and Dappletail."

Cinderpaw and Fireheart slowly crept out of the apprentices' den. Cinderpaw looked in pain, but she beamed. Fireheart looked lost in thoughts.

"I wish we could go to the Gathering," Sandkit mewed, turning to Dapplekit. The tortoiseshell nodded, and looked as if she were in pain as well. "Are you okay?" Sandkit demanded.

"I just have a headache…" Dapplekit meowed, gritting her teeth. "You should go see Yellowfang!" Sandkit advised. Dapplekit turned and hobbled to the medicine cat's den.

"What's wrong with Dapplekit?" Brindleface asked, her eyes wide with worry for her adopted kit. Sandkit shrugged. "She says she has a headache. I hope she's okay."

**The Queen of Bad Endings strikes again! What's wrong with poor Dapplekit? Yes, she has powers, but not powers like shooting lightning out of her mouth, or having the power to make ice come out of her eyes. It's a power given to her by StarClan, kind of like how Jaypaw is. Dapplekit is really blind, if you didn't know. I actually didn't know either until a few minutes ago when I made it up. D**

**Dapplekit has the powers to:**

**a) Sense when someone is approaching the camp**

**b) Know what a certain cat is doing at that exact moment and how they're feeling**

**c) Receive visions from StarClan while awake**

**So…yeah. Sandkit can hear and see, but she also has one power. She can be in the place of another cat. Say Cinderpaw was on a hunting patrol. Sandkit can feel herself running and sinking her teeth into the prey's throat. Understand?**

**Once again, I'll try to update soon.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	14. xxCHAPTER 13xx

**Sorry for kind of the long wait. I had to get my teeth cleaned, and I lost my phone yesterday (but I found it under my pillow). So yeah, here's chapter 13.**

…CHAPTER 13…

_Cinderpaw stayed side-by-side with _Brackenpaw the whole way to Fourtrees. Bluestar and Tigerclaw were racing determinedly in the front, followed by Whitestorm. The elders were next, then the rest of the warriors and apprentices mixed together.

"I'm so excited!" Cinderpaw squealed. "Bluestar is going to announce our names as new apprentices!" She stopped when she realized how much of a thrilled kit she sounded like. Brackenpaw nodded as he hurried with the crowd of ThunderClan cats.

"Swiftstep used to brag about going to the Gathering, but now we're going, so he can't brag!"

Cinderpaw let out a gasp when she saw the Fourtrees. There were four, huge oak trees bundled together, and an enormous rock. Fat, black roots twisted around each other, making four holes under the rock.

"That's the Great Rock," Brackenpaw breathed into his sister's ear, and she nodded in awe.

Bluestar flicked her tail, and led the cats into the clearing. WindClan and RiverClan cats had already arrived, and were chatting amongst each other.

"Swiftpaw! Dustpaw!"

A heavyset tabby tom was dashing over to the two new warriors. Cinderpaw identified him as a RiverClan apprentice.

"Hi, Heavypaw," Dustpelt greeted, dipping his head. "I'm Dustpelt now!"

Swiftstep puffed out his chest proudly. "And now I'm Swiftstep."

Heavypaw's eyes flew wide. "Congratulations! You're so lucky!"

Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw glanced around for any other apprentices. A dark gray she-cat, a silver tabby she-cat, a dark gray tabby tom, a white she-cat, and a light gray she-cat were sitting together, chatting. Cinderpaw could tell they were apprentices.

Bundling up her courage, Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw padded over to them. "H-hi, I'm Cinderpaw, and this is my brother Brackenpaw."

The white she-cat glanced up. "I'm Whitepaw from WindClan. Are you from ThunderClan?"

Brackenpaw nodded.

The dark gray tabby tom hissed. "I'm not talking to _ThunderClan _cats!" He spat out the word 'ThunderClan'.

Whitepaw gave him a cuff on the ear. "Shut up, Webpaw. They look younger than us, so be nice."

"I'm Runningpaw," the gray she-cat mewed. "From RiverClan. These are my sisters, Shadepaw and Silverpaw."

The two she-cats dipped their heads as their names were called. Runningpaw glanced around. "Where are Brownpaw and Oakpaw? They should be here by now."

Silverpaw nodded and narrowed her eyes into the pine trees, as if searching for any sign of their patrol. "There they are!"

Webpaw glanced at the trees. "I can see Oakpaw, but Brownpaw isn't here."

Cinderpaw sat down between Whitepaw and Brackenpaw. They both wanted to stay clear of Webpaw, who looked as if he wanted to claw their ears off. Cinderpaw tried not to imagine her and Brackenpaw returning to camp with missing ears.

"Hi, Oakpaw!" Shadepaw greeted as the small tabby tom approached. "Where's Brownpaw?"

"Nightstar didn't call his name for the Gathering," Oakpaw explained. Shadepaw flattened her ears. "Aw, I had to tell him something really important."

Suddenly, a yowl rang in the clearing, and the apprentices quieted down and turned to face the Great Rock. Cinderpaw marveled at how the deputies sat in the root underneath their leader's place on the rock. Bluestar's blue-gray coat shone silver in the full moon.

"Welcome to the Gathering," Crookedstar meowed, his slanted jaw snapping sickeningly. Cinderpaw swallowed a gag.

WindClan was first to speak.

"WindClan had an encounter with ThunderClan a few sunrises ago," Tallstar meowed. "Other than that, we have no news to report."

Crookedstar stepped forward. "ThunderClan and RiverClan had a battle, and sadly, our deputy Leopardfur lost her life."

The rest of the Clans bowed their head silently in grief.

The huge light tabby paused a moment, then raised his head. "My new deputy is Stonefur." Bluestar dipped her head to the dark gray tom, who stared at her in puzzlement.

"That is all," Crookedstar mewed, and then stepped back.

ThunderClan's turn.

"We have given ShadowClan a part of our territory because they were starving," Bluestar announced. "But now it looks as if they are healthy and strong. If they set paw on that part of territory, they will be attacked."

Nightstar hissed.

"On the bright side, two apprentices have been made warriors. Dustpelt and Swiftstep."

The two toms rose to their paws and the rest of the Clans cheered for them, calling out encouraging words.

"We have two new apprentices," Bluestar meowed.

Cinderpaw's heart leaped, and she could feel Brackenpaw bristling with excitement beside her. _This is it!_

"Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw."

Cinderpaw stood up immediately and felt her ears grow hot as the apprentices around her cheered loudest.

"We have welcomed two kits into our Clan as well," Bluestar continued, her eyes glinting. "Their names are Sandkit and Dapplekit. That is all the news I have to report."

Finally, Nightstar stepped forward. "We found an apprentice straying on our territory." Cinderpaw's belly sank as the black tom stared directly at her. "One of my warriors, Stumpytail, was out on a hunting patrol, when she wandered into the territory. The rest of her patrol had scattered, leaving her behind. She calmly explained that she'd forgotten that ThunderClan had lent us the chunk of territory, so the patrol let her go."

Oakpaw glanced at Cinderpaw. She wanted to melt into a puddle and sink into the soot.

"ShadowClan refuse to give the territory back!"

**Ooo. Cliffhanger. **

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	15. xxCHAPTER 14xx

Here you go

**Here you go.**

…CHAPTER 14…

_Fireheart hissed and flattened his ears _menacingly at Nightstar's decision. "How dare they?" he heard Swiftstep growl. Bluestar's fur bristled as she glared at Nightstar. "And why not?" she demanded, her claws unsheathing and sheathing over and over.

Nightstar rose to his paws and took a few gliding steps toward Bluestar. "Because," he mewed, "we've already made scent markers there, and what makes you so sure we're well-fed again?"

"Look at you!" Tigerclaw spat. "Your bellies are fatter than a kittypet's!" Cinderfur growled and swiped an unsheathed paw at him. Tigerclaw arched his back and let out a yowl, then flung himself onto the deputy.

Fireheart felt claws sink into his shoulder, and fangs tighten around his ear. He let out a screech and whipped around, detaching the cat from his back. It was Wetfoot who'd attacked him. His gray tabby fur was bristling and his claws flexed as he stood up and lurched at the ThunderClan warrior.

Fireheart lifted his sheathed paw and struck Wetfoot hard in the nose. The gray tom flew back a couple rabbit hops, straight into Cinderpaw. The gray apprentice leaped back, startled, and tried to claw at his ear. Wetfoot had already rose to his paws and raced toward Fireheart.

"The moon! The moon!" Tallstar yowled. "Clouds are covering the moon! We must leave at once. WindClan, come." He jumped off the Great Rock and began trekking down the slope towards WindClan territory. Onewhisker, who had been sitting next to Fireheart, nodded quickly and dashed after his Clan.

"Come, RiverClan," Crookedstar meowed as he hopped off the rock. Stonefur guided his Clan away from the clearing and took the rear of the RiverClan cats.

"If you don't want any trouble between us, you'd best give that territory back," Bluestar growled. Nightstar sneered as the leader turned around and flicked her tail for her Clan to follow her. Fireheart stood and waited for Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw to pass him before hurrying away from Fourtrees, away from ShadowClan.

"Does that always happen at Gatherings?" Fireheart heard Brackenpaw ask Graystripe, his amber eyes wide. Cinderpaw pressed her pelt against Fireheart's. "I never want to go to another Gathering."

"It usually never ends in fight," Fireheart assured his apprentice. He could smell the fear scent coming off of her in waves. He gave her a swift lick between the ears and guided her down the slope.

"I swear to StarClan, if those ShadowClan cats hunt one more time in our territory," Dustpelt hissed to Swiftstep, "I'll claw their ears off, and maybe take a chunk of fur off their backs." Swiftstep nodded angrily and growled.

Fireheart had to admit; this was very selfish of the Nightstar. He wasn't too fond of any of the ShadowClan cats, except for maybe Runningnose. But even if it meant battle or death, he'd fight for his Clan with every muscle in his body, with every beat of his heart, with every hair on his flame-colored pelt.

Graystripe fell into step with his old friend. Fireheart noticed that they haven't talked in a while, or been hunting together. Everything had seemed too tense between the Clans.

"Hey, how is Cinderpaw coming along in her training?" Graystripe asked, gazing at Fireheart with beaming yellow eyes. Fireheart smiled. "She's doing great. Her hunting skills are really coming along. I've been trying to focus more on battle training with her. What about Brackenpaw?"

Graystripe twitched his tail happily. "He's doing really great. I'm so proud of him-on his first try with the leap-and-hold thing, he defeated me. And the first time he tried rearing up on his hind legs and pushing down on my shoulders. He's a really amazing fighter for his first moon of training."

Fireheart wondered if Graystripe had asked him how Cinderpaw was doing because he wanted to brag about Brackenpaw. The flame-colored warrior shot his friend a quick grin before turning back and sighing. He was happy for Graystripe and his apprentice, but he didn't need to boast after hearing that Cinderpaw was really only good at hunting.

As the ThunderClan cats approached the camp, Fireheart could hear a wailing. It sounded like the pain-filled and thin wailing of a she-cat…coming directly from the ThunderClan camp! Fireheart unsheathed his claws and leaped into battle mode.

Bluestar led the cats down the gorse tunnel and was welcomed by another shriek coming from the bramble thicket of the nursery. "Someone's having kits," Graystripe remarked. Fireheart nodded and bounded out of the tunnel, Graystripe at his heels.

Fireheart was excited to hear that Frostfur was having kits, but no cat was to enter the nursery until Frostfur and Yellowfang allowed it. He also noticed how strange Cinderpaw appeared. Her bright blue eyes were unusually dull; her fluffy dark gray fur was tangled. Fireheart would've liked to comfort his apprentice, his love, but he didn't want any cat to see the affection between them.

Sleepily, Fireheart curled into his nest. Whitestorm, Mousefur, Dustpelt, and Swiftstep were already in the den, asleep. Swiftstep and Dustpelt had to sleep on the edge, due to the fact that they were the newest warriors. The moss felt downier than ever, and it cradled the flame-colored tom to a thick slumber.

"Spottedleaf?" Fireheart called. "Are you there?" The tortoiseshell appeared from the fronds of fern and mewed a greeting.

"Fireheart, I have a prophecy for you," she meowed calmly, her voice sounding as smooth as a creek. "_The sparks of the fire, the dark bird in the sky, and the great tree will arrive from the pool of ashes, and together will be the strongest force the forest has seen."_

Fireheart shivered at the dark tortoiseshell she-cat's mysterious words. Spottedleaf's eyes glowed and she motioned forward another tortoiseshell she-kit and a sand-colored she-kit.

"Sandkit?" Fireheart exclaimed, his neck fur prickling. "Dapplekit?" Their green eyes were bright with knowledge and power.

"These two are closer to you than you think," Spottedleaf mewed. The three she-cats faded, and Fireheart soon found himself in front of the nursery. The bramble thickets wavered as an eerie, pain-filled yowl split his eardrums.

**Yeah, if you're wondering about the last paragraph, Fireheart is still asleep. It's hard to explain. It's kind of like a vision of something to come, like the bloody bone pile that Fireheart saw during his leader ceremony.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	16. xxCHAPTER 15xx

Chapter 15…Chapter 15…

…CHAPTER 15…

_Cinderpaw lapped up the leaves, cringing _at the strange, foul taste. She had a sharp pain in her belly, and was feeling tired and miserable. She'd gone to Yellowfang's den to get some herbs from the old medicine cat.

"Hey, Cinderpaw," Brackenpaw meowed as he padded into the den. "What's wrong?"

"I just have a bad bellyache," Cinderpaw mumbled, ignoring the throbbing pain as she spoke. Brackenpaw's amber eyes flashed with concern. "Are you okay?"

Cinderpaw nodded and glanced up as Yellowfang stepped beside her. "Leaf-fall is here, which means sickness. Come and tell me if it keeps hurting or gets worse. That could be a sign of something."

Again, Cinderpaw nodded. Brackenpaw gave his sister a quick lick and bounded out of the den when Graystripe called his name. Yellowfang glanced at Cinderpaw. "Does it feel any better?"

Cinderpaw held still, waiting for the throbbing in her belly. "Sort of," she sighed. Yellowfang sniffed and turned away.

Confused, Cinderpaw rested her chin on her paws and closed her eyes, trying to let sleep overcome the pain. The pawsteps, the voices outside the den, the birds squawking, they all disappeared as Cinderpaw sank into a doze.

Cinderpaw found herself a very small clearing, surrounded by ferns. It was so small that only about four cats could fit themselves in comfortably. Cinderpaw knew she was dreaming, so she sat down and swiveled her ears around, waiting for something to happen.

A dark tortoiseshell she-cat stepped out of the ferns. Cinderpaw bristled as she recognized the old ThunderClan medicine cat, Spottedleaf.

"Cinderpaw," Spottedleaf mewed, dipping her head in greeting. "I have a prophecy for you."

A chill ran down Cinderpaw's spine as she listened to Spottedleaf's words: _"The sparks of fire, the dark bird in the sky, and the great tree will arrive from the pool of ashes, and together will be the strongest force the forest has seen."_

"Wh…what does that mean?" Cinderpaw stammered. Spottedleaf didn't answer; her eyes glowed and she disappeared. Cinderpaw was suddenly lying in the nursery, pain squeezing her whole body as if she were in a hole with thorns on either side. A flame-colored pelt was outside the brambles, pacing back and forth. The pain grew stronger, and Cinderpaw wailed.

"Cinderpaw? Cinderpaw! Wake up!"

Gasping, the dark apprentice jolted awake, her heart pounding and fur bristling. It was already past sunhigh; the evening patrol would set out soon. The pain in her belly was still there, but fainter, and Yellowfang was hovering over Cinderpaw.

"Wha…what happened?" she stammered, her eyes wide.

"You wailed in your sleep!" Yellowfang looked concerned for the gray apprentice. "Does your belly still hurt?"

Cinderpaw decided she wanted to get out of the medicine cat's den, so she nodded and lied, "I can't feel any more pain. I guess it was just a bad piece of prey, or something." She sat up and gave her chest a few licks. "Thanks, Yellowfang."

Cinderpaw dipped her head, padded out of the den, and glanced around the clearing, hoping to see Brackenpaw. Graystripe was sharing a finch with Willowpelt, so she hurried over to him.

"Graystripe, do you know where Brackenpaw is?" Cinderpaw asked, trying to be polite.

"He's going on the evening patrol," Graystripe meowed. "You'd best not disturb him." Nodding, Cinderpaw padded around the clearing, searching for a friend or two to hunt with.

"Cinderpaw!"

The gray she-cat glanced up. Brightpaw and Thornpaw were racing toward her, their eyes aglow.

"Hi!" Cinderpaw greeted her siblings. "How's training coming along?"

"Great!" Brightpaw replied, bouncing a bit excitedly. "Whitestorm is a great mentor. He's teaching me how to hunt!"

Cinderpaw twitched her whiskers and gazed expectantly at Thornpaw. "How is yours, Thornpaw?"

"Mine?" The golden-brown tabby snapped his head up. "It's fine. Mousefur is kind of impatient."

"Would you like me to show you how to hunt?" When Cinderpaw realized she had said these words, she desperately tried to catch them and stuff them back down her throat, but it was too late.

Brightpaw looked as if she were about to leap out of her pelt. "You would do that?"

Cinderpaw nodded sheepishly. "Um, yeah! Maybe you could catch your first pieces of prey."

Thornpaw stared at his sister. "Are we allowed to go out of camp with you, Cinderpaw?"

"I'll get Fireheart to come with us," Cinderpaw suggested. When both young apprentices nodded eagerly, Cinderpaw darted to the warriors' den in search for the flame-colored warrior.

Before she knew it, Cinderpaw was racing alongside Fireheart and Brightpaw, her flank brushing the warrior's. Fireheart halted and scented the air. As if a mentor to all the apprentices, Fireheart asked, "What do you smell, Thornpaw?"

The golden-brown tom looked reluctant to answer, but after smelling the air, he responded, "Mouse…blackbird…and ShadowClan."

"ShadowClan?" Fireheart bristled and repeated the dark Clan's name. He scented the air for himself. Sure enough, Cinderpaw noticed the foul smell of ShadowClan that hung in the air.

Fireheart immediately crept through the undergrowth and approached a small clearing. Cinderpaw made sure Brightpaw and Thornpaw were with her, and then followed her mentor silently.

There were Littlecloud, Brownpaw, and Wetfoot, hunting away as if it were their own territory. Rage burned in Cinderpaw's belly and she narrowed her eyes. Her claws itched to sink into ShadowClan fur.

Fireheart turned. "Brightpaw, Thornpaw," he hissed quietly, "run back to camp and get some help." The two wide-eyed apprentices nodded, spun around, and dashed away, side by side.

Cinderpaw pressed her pelt against Fireheart's for comfort. The pain from earlier this morning was coming back, and she flinched, but stayed quiet. Wetfoot pounced on a mouse that had almost scampered across his path. Cinderpaw bit her tongue, holding back a hiss. She would have to fight today.

Then she waited.

**Queen of Bad Endings…-headdesk-…strikes again. I feel kind of bad for Cinderpaw and her bellyache, but she also has to fight cats with a bellyache. Okay, ShadowClan, you've had enough of the territory. Time to give it back now. Or is it? XD**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	17. xxCHAPTER 16xx

Here's chapter 16 already

**Here's chapter 16 already. By the way, Swiftlegs asked me what happened to Redtail if Tigerclaw wasn't evil. My answer is: I have no idea. Hehe! I guess Tigerclaw could be evil, but not until later on in my books. D**

…CHAPTER 16…

_Fireheart shuffled his paws impatiently, waiting _for the patrol to come bursting out of the bushes, into the clearing, and onto the ShadowClan cats.

"Fireheart!"

A quiet hiss came from behind him. The flame-colored warrior turned as slowly and silently as he could. There stood Bluestar, Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, Darkstripe, Runningwind, Dustpelt, Graystripe, and Brackenpaw, all together in a clump of cats, ready for battle.

Smiling, Fireheart crouched and unsheathed his claws. Bluestar let out a battle cry and the ThunderClan cats decanted into the clearing.

Wetfoot, Littlecloud, and Brownpaw jumped in shock. Wide-eyed, Brownpaw tried to bat at Brackenpaw, who was on his hind legs. Brackenpaw toppled onto the brown apprentice and swiped his claws at Brownpaw's ear.

Fireheart immediately leapt for Wetfoot. The dark gray tabby was guarding the prey he'd caught. Runningwind managed to snatch the mouse from him, and toss it farther into ThunderClan territory.

"That was my prey!" Wetfoot screeched, and bowled into Runningwind. The tabby tom skidded straight into Graystripe, who yowled in surprise. Fireheart found this as a chance to attack Wetfoot, but Willowpelt beat him to it.

"Stop!"

Nightstar padded into the clearing, Cinderfur at his side. "What in the name of StarClan is going on here? Why are ThunderClan on our territory?"

Bluestar stepped forward. "You know as well as I do that it's time for you to give us back our territory. The question is more like: why are ShadowClan on _our _territory?"

Cinderfur gave a menacing hiss and looked as if she were about to leap and sink her claws into Bluestar's fur. Fireheart tensed, praying Nightstar would give the territory back.

The black tom growled. "You want your territory back? Then you'll have to fight us for it!" He sprang directly at Bluestar, and suddenly, several cats poured onto the ThunderClan cats.

Fireheart tackled a silver tom, whose scent was not ShadowClan. _Surely this tom isn't from ShadowClan! He's a rogue!_

The silver tom didn't seem to know how to fight very well, so Fireheart easily pinned him down, clamped his jaws around the tom's ear, and scrabbled at his belly with his hind claws.

The tom yowled and squirmed, trying to break free. Finally, Fireheart let him go, and he darted out of the clearing back to ShadowClan territory.

Fireheart glanced around for Cinderpaw, trying frantically to catch a glimpse of her fluffy dark gray fur. He spotted her quickly, fighting with an apprentice-sized ginger she-cat.

Fireheart gulped. The she-cat looked almost exactly like Sandpaw. Sand_storm_, now. Cinderpaw was doubled over in pain, while the ginger she-cat was raking her claws down her spine.

Hoping Cinderpaw wasn't injured badly, Fireheart leaped at the ginger she-cat and rolled over with her, knocking her off Cinderpaw. He slashed his claws down her nose and she squealed in pain. She began flailing her claws around, trying to scratch something of Fireheart's, but the flame-colored tom had her pinned down and was scratching her belly, like he did to the silver tom. She wiggled out of Fireheart's grip and dashed out of the clearing.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart meowed, calling his apprentice's name. The dark gray she-cat was lying on the ground, her eyes closed and her breathing heavy. He widened his eyes. "Cinderpaw!" Fireheart began trying to drag her out of the clearing. Suddenly, a small black tom whammed into Fireheart, slashing his claws around anywhere he could reach.

"Get off!" Fireheart mumbled through dark gray fur. "Get off of me, you furball! Get OFF!" He heaved his back and sent the tom flying through the air.

"Cinderpaw." Fireheart pressed his apprentice in the side once he had taken her to safety. He licked her between the ears. "Cinderpaw!"

The gray she-cat cracked open her blue eyes. "F-Fireheart?" She immediately started a coughing fit. "Fireheart!" she mewed between coughs. Her belly heaved, and she vomited onto the sooty ground.

Fireheart, confused, ran his tail along her flank and waited for her to calm down. "Are you okay?" he asked, suddenly feeling his shoulder stinging from the black tom that had scraped it.

Cinderpaw drew in a shaky breath and croaked, "Yeah. My…my belly just hurts."

"Stay here until the fight is over," Fireheart instructed gently. "Then I'll help you back to camp." Cinderpaw nodded weakly, and Fireheart raced back into the clearing, where most of the rogues had gone. Fireheart noticed all the ShadowClan cats were still in battle, fighting the ThunderClan warriors.

Fireheart saw Darkstripe and Tigerclaw fighting side-by-side against Cinderfur until finally, Tigerclaw opened his mouth, revealing sharp white fangs, and sank them into Cinderfur's throat. The gray tom gave a choked wail and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Fireheart shuddered. This death was almost exactly like Sandpaw's. And Tigerclaw had killed yet another innocent warrior. First Leopardfur, and now Cinderfur? What did Tigerclaw have against the other Clans' deputies? Was Deadfoot of WindClan next? Fireheart shook the thought from his head and tackled Littlecloud, who had Graystripe pinned down.

Sinking his claws into Littlecloud's fur, Fireheart pushed the tabby off of his friend and scrabbled at his flanks. Littlecloud let out a screech and flipped over, clawing at Fireheart's ear. The flame-colored tom twisted his head around, reared onto his hind legs, and toppled onto Littlecloud.

"ShadowClan, retreat!" Nightstar yowled. The black tom had a slit in his throat and was limping on one hind leg. "Bluestar, take your good-for-nothing territory back, for all I care! All there's here is just crowfood anyway."

Suddenly, Stumpytail screeched, "Cinderfur is dead!" Fireheart lifted his head. Who would be the next deputy of ShadowClan?

**Bad ending…I always have bad endings! –headdesk- Well…Tigerclaw killed Cinderfur! If you're wondering why Nightstar had the slit in his throat but wasn't dead, it's because he lost a life. Now he only has…seven, I believe. Or six. I don't know.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	18. xxCHAPTER 17xx

…Chapter 17 already…

…**Chapter 17 already…**

…CHAPTER 17…

_A low grumble of thunder_ _awoke_ Cinderpaw. She lifted her head and immediately scented the strong scent of herbs and Yellowfang. The raggedy old gray she-cat was sorting through herbs. "Yellowfang?" Cinderpaw meowed.

"Oh, Cinderpaw." Yellowfang turned to the fluffy apprentice. "How do you feel?"

"My belly hurts," Cinderpaw admitted, feeling the same old pain in her belly. "Wha…what happened?"

Yellowfang glanced back at her herbs and continued searching through them. "At the battle with ShadowClan, Fireheart pulled you aside and you vomited, then went unconscious. Fireheart and Brackenpaw dragged you into here and explained everything."

Memories flooded back to Cinderpaw. The battle with the ginger she-cat had weakened her even more, and she'd felt dizzy. Her belly had a splitting pain in it, as if a cat had kicked her there. Fireheart had helped her out of the clearing, and…

"Cinderpaw," Yellowfang meowed, gazing at the gray apprentice. "Does it hurt worse than yesterday?"

Cinderpaw nodded and began grooming her flank. Raindrops pattered against the clearing and thunder rumbled. Cinderpaw knew an even bigger storm was to come. New-leaf always brought thunderstorms.

"Eat this watermint and these poppy seeds," Yellowfang ordered, passing Cinderpaw a leafy green plant and two tiny black seeds. Cinderpaw chewed it into a pulp and swallowed the bitter-tasting leaves, and then gulped down the poppy seeds.

"Just try to get some rest and when you wake up, tell me how you feel." Cinderpaw nodded at the medicine cat, tucked her nose between her paws, and closed her eyes.

"Spottedleaf?" Cinderpaw called. "Where are you? Do you have anything to tell me?"

The dark silence was eerie; it crept along the ground, through the ferns, and over Cinderpaw, making her shiver. "Spottedleaf?"

"Cinderpaw."

The gray apprentice jumped and she turned around. "Who…who are you?"

"I am Redtail," the tortoiseshell tom mewed, dipping his head.

"So that's how you got your name?" Cinderpaw asked, pointing with her muzzle at his red tail.

Redtail nodded. "Remember the prophecy?"

"What prophecy?"

"Oh, Cinderpaw," Redtail sighed. "You don't have that bad of a memory, you know."

"What?"

"_The sparks of fire, the dark bird in the sky, and the great tree will arrive from the pool of ashes, and together will be the strongest force the forest has ever seen."_

"Oh, that." Cinderpaw gazed at Redtail expectantly. "What about it?"

Redtail sighed again in frustration. "Have you even thought about that?"

"No," Cinderpaw admitted. She had completely forgotten the prophecy when she'd gone hunting with Fireheart, Thornpaw, and Brightpaw. It hadn't even crossed her mind, especially in the battle. "Can you help me figure it out, please?"

"I'm afraid I can't," Redtail mewed, pacing in front of Cinderpaw. He sat down, curling his dark ginger tail over his paws. "But, I can help you figure it out by yourself. Spottedleaf told me to give you a hint."

"Okay," Cinderpaw agreed. "I'll do anything."

"Tell me other words for 'ashes'."

"Ash?" Cinderpaw echoed. "Umm…dust?"

"What else do you think of when you think of the word 'ash'?"

"I see…a fire. With sticks poking out on either side."

"Now, what would happen if that fire burned out? What would it leave? Other than ashes?"

"Cinders."

"Right." Redtail looked satisfied.

"Cinders!" Cinderpaw repeated. "Like Cinderpaw! The prophecy is about me?"

Redtail nodded. "Somewhat. Now promise me, Cinderpaw, that you will think about this."

"I…" Cinderpaw began. How could she think about it, on top of her bellyaches and training sessions, hunting patrols and border patrols, cleaning out the elders' den and the nursery and fighting with other Clans?

Cinderpaw finished leisurely, "I promise."

Redtail dipped his head, and slowly vanished.

Cinderpaw was back in the nursery. The flame-colored pelt was pacing outside once again, and the pain was growing stronger. Cinderpaw bit her tongue, but the wail spilled out of her mouth, bursting through her chest…

--

"Cinderpaw!"

Opening her eyes wide, Cinderpaw awoke to the sound of rain, and to the sight of Yellowfang hovering over her, looking annoyed, yet concerned.

"Was…I wailing again?" Cinderpaw asked, panting. Yellowfang nodded. "What have you been dreaming about lately?"

_Should I tell Yellowfang about the prophecy? _Cinderpaw wondered, staring at Yellowfang's round orange eyes. She thought about the sun, round, orange, and bright. Yellowfang's eyes seemed to represent the sun, with her fiery attitude…

"Cinderpaw?"

"Um…"

"What have you been dreaming about? If it's prophetic, you need to let me know."

"I've been dreaming about…well, Spottedleaf first came to me and gave me a prophecy."

Cinderpaw leapt into the explanation of her dreams while Yellowfang questioned her and asked for every detail. Cinderpaw, feeling slightly pressured, did as she was told. Finally, when she was finished, Yellowfang meowed, "So. This prophecy is about you, Cinderpaw."

"Not exactly," Cinderpaw mumbled. "Redtail said it was only somewhat about me."

"Well, the 'pool of ashes' means you."

"Yellowfang, what do the 'sparks of fire, the dark bird in the sky, and the great tree' mean? What do Spottedleaf and Redtail mean by 'arrive'?"

"I don't know, Cinderpaw," Yellowfang rasped. "Just think about it."

**Not actually a bad ending, for once. So, this prophecy is about Cinderpaw. Duh. This was pretty much a filler chapter. Wow, only three more chapters until the end. And three more days until I get my braces…-cries-**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	19. xxCHAPTER 18xx

**Here's chapter 18 already. I know, I've been updating a lot. This story is coming to an end…-sob- But don't worry. If I get enough reviews, I'll make a sequel. **

…CHAPTER 18…

"_Come on, Fireheart," Whitestorm called, flicking _his tail. Fireheart nodded and raced after Brightpaw and his mentor. Cinderpaw was trailing behind him pretty slowly, so Fireheart stopped and waited for her.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked quietly. Cinderpaw gazed up at Fireheart, and he could see the pain that dulled her eyes.

"Yeah, Fireheart."

Concerned, Fireheart questioned, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Fireheart gave his apprentice a comforting lick on the ear. He loved her, loved her more than life itself, more than he loved Sandstorm…or did he? If Sandstorm were alive, would he love her or Cinderpaw?

"Goodbye, Fireheart and Cinderpaw," Whitestorm meowed as he split apart from them.

Fireheart dipped his head. "Bye." Then he beckoned Cinderpaw to head towards Snakerocks.

"Where are we going?" Cinderpaw asked, catching up to her mentor. "I thought we were going training."

"We are." Fireheart approached a huge sycamore tree. "This is the Great Sycamore. I'm teaching you how to climb trees."

"Climb trees?" Cinderpaw echoed, wrinkling her nose. "I already know how, though. I've climbed a tree before."

Fireheart shook his head. "No, this tree is harder to climb because it's trunk is quite thin. The object is to keep hard concentration on where you place your paws. We'll start out slow, and gradually get faster, until you can scramble up a tree like this."

He placed his paws against the tree trunk, unsheathed his claws, and began to scamper up the tree, his paws whacking against the tree, digging his claws in and hastily ripping them out. Pieces of bark shredded from the trunk and descended to the ground in front of Cinderpaw, who was watching her mentor in amazement.

Once Fireheart had made it to a pretty high branch, he crawled down and paced in front of Cinderpaw. "Go over to the trunk," he instructed, "get up on your hind legs, and put your paws against the bark. Make sure your claws are unsheathed."

Cinderpaw did as she was told.

"Now, jump up and dig your claws into the bark."

Cringing, Cinderpaw gave a little hop and sank her claws in. "Fireheart, I…"

"Good, now just take your claws out, and dig them into the tree a little higher. Do the same for all four legs."

Again, Cinderpaw obeyed her mentor. "Fireheart, I have…"

Fireheart didn't really pay attention to his apprentice's words; it was hard training cats to climb trees. Doing so was a natural talent to most cats, but Cinderpaw needed to know how to climb fast. "Just do the same until you get to that first big branch. See it?"

Cinderpaw slowly but surely made her way up the tree, only stumbling once, and pushed herself onto the branch. She meowed a little louder, "Fireheart, I have to-"

Fireheart sighed. "Yes, Cinderpaw?"

"I…I have to…"

"Go ahead and climb back down. I want to see if you know how to." The apprentice looked on the verge of tears. "Okay."

Once she made it down, Fireheart padded over to her. "Was that hard?" Cinderpaw was shaking and her whiskers trembled.

"Cinderpaw?" Fireheart's smile faded. "What's wrong?" Suddenly, the apprentice doubled over in a coughing fit, and vomited continuously onto the ground. Fireheart patted her shoulder with his tail and tried to look away.

Cinderpaw retched again, her belly heaving up and down, until she collapsed her head onto the ground. Her blue eyes barely cracked open, and she moaned in pain.

"I…I'll go get…" Fireheart couldn't decide what to do. "Umm…" He picked up his apprentice by the scruff and began dragging her towards the ThunderClan camp. Cinderpaw whimpered and gagged a couple times, but mostly stayed quiet and limp. Fireheart was afraid she'd vomit again, all over his paws. He shuddered at the thought.

"Yellowfang," Fireheart called through a mouthful of gray fur. Brackenpaw glanced up from sharing a starling with Thornpaw and raced over to his sister. "Fireheart! Wha…what happened?"

Fireheart didn't answer; instead he laid Cinderpaw at his paws and called louder this time, "Yellowfang?"

The ragged dark gray medicine cat appeared out of her den and made her way across the clearing over to Fireheart and his half-conscious apprentice. "What happened to Cinderpaw?"

"I was teaching her how to climb trees, and after she climbed it she started coughing and then vomited a lot," Fireheart explained quietly. He didn't want any other cat to hear him; Cinderpaw would be very embarrassed when she found out they knew.

Yellowfang sighed. "Didn't this just happen yesterday?"

Fireheart nodded. "I suppose Cinderpaw really is sick." He helped Yellowfang haul Cinderpaw inside the den and into a nest of moss and feathers.

Yellowfang placed her nose against Cinderpaw's paw pad, checking for a high temperature. "No fever," Yellowfang mumbled, just loud enough for Fireheart to hear. "She might've just caught a bug, or something," he suggested.

"No." The dark gray she-cat shook her head, her orange eyes gleaming with thought. "Not a bug. It must be something else." She pressed her paw against Cinderpaw's belly and waited, pushing gently against it. Fireheart waited for Yellowfang to report anything, and was puzzled. What was she doing?

"Ah." Yellowfang placed her paw onto the ground and hurried over to the crack in the rock where she stored her herbs. "I knew her belly looked a little bigger."

Fireheart was still confused. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well," Yellowfang mewed, turning back to Fireheart with an herb in her mouth, "Cinderpaw, here, is pregnant."

**Finally, a good ending! I noticed I make a lot of apprentices have kits with warriors. Hollypaw (now, Hollytail) and Thornclaw in ****Untold Secrets****, and now Cinderpaw and Fireheart. Wow. I've been updating a lot! Maybe chapter 19 will be up tonight, and if not, tomorrow. Adios!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	20. xxCHAPTER 19xx

No comment, so here's chapter 19No comment, so here's chapter 19.

…CHAPTER 19…

_Cinderpaw jolted out of her half-_consciousness, her heart pounding and face burning. "I…I'm…what?!"

"You're pregnant," Yellowfang replied simply.

"N…no!" Cinderpaw sank down into her nest. "I…I'm…never going to be…a warrior! I'll be stuck in the…the nursery for the next 7 moons! My warrior ceremony will be postponed!" Her voice grew to a wail.

Fireheart nuzzled Cinderpaw. "Yeah, but _I'm_ the father." Cinderpaw brightened. "Really?"

The ginger warrior nodded. "Besides, Cinderpaw, you're almost a warrior. You just need to have your last few training sessions and review all your fighting moves, and have your hunting assessment, and you'll be a warrior. Maybe if Yellowfang lets you, you could…"

"I will," Yellowfang agreed. "Keep the pregnancy a secret first, until you earn your warrior name. You will still have belly pains, and you might still have vomiting, but that's normal, since you're younger than most queens. I'll let Bluestar know you're pregnant, oh…two sunrises after your vigil."

Cinderpaw nodded. "That'd be great. The belly pains aren't really that bad."

"Come to my den when your belly is hurting you badly, and I'll give you some juniper berries, or something. It's not too dangerous to continue with your apprentice duties during your first two weeks of pregnancy."

"Good." Cinderpaw sighed in relief. "I feel so dirty! I broke the warrior code terribly. It's like…a medicine cat having kits."

Fireheart and Yellowfang exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Uh, yeah," Fireheart mumbled. "Do you want to go back to the Great Sycamore and keep practicing climbing?" Cinderpaw nodded. "Sure."

--

"Come on, Cinderpaw." A paw was prodding her in the side. Cinderpaw cracked open a blue eye to see Fireheart standing over her. "If you want to become a warrior soon, you need to get up early to train."

Cinderpaw leaped to her paws and bounded after Fireheart into the clearing. He was holding a mouse in his jaws for them to share. Cinderpaw crouched beside him and took a bite.

"Graystripe and I are going to assess you and Brackenpaw with your fighting skills," Fireheart explained. "After your hunting assessment, I will discuss your warrior ceremony with Bluestar."

Excitement rushed through Cinderpaw. "Great!"

The two cats finished eating and waited for Brackenpaw and Graystripe at the camp entrance. Sure enough, the two toms padded over to them a couple heartbeats later.

"Great job, Brackenpaw," Graystripe meowed. The golden-brown tabby apprentice had just finished the leap-and-hold technique on Fireheart.

"Now, Cinderpaw, I'd like you to do the same to Graystripe," Fireheart instructed. Cinderpaw braced herself, leaped, and landed squarely on Graystripe's back. The gray tom reared onto his hind legs, but Cinderpaw had already dug her claws into his broad, muscular shoulders.

"Great," Fireheart mewed as Cinderpaw slid off of Graystripe. "Brackenpaw, Cinderpaw, it's time for another mock fight."

Cinderpaw groaned inwardly. Her skills were mainly in hunting, and Brackenpaw was a far better fighter than his sister, but she reluctantly stepped away from the two warriors and backed up about 3 fox lengths from Brackenpaw.

"Three…two…one…go!" Graystripe called. Cinderpaw leaped, but Brackenpaw scooted to the side and tripped her. Growling, Cinderpaw rose to her paws and tackled Brackenpaw, bashing him in the face with her paws, cuffing his ear, and scrabbling at his belly. Brackenpaw gave a yowl and rolled onto his belly, so Cinderpaw was underneath him.

Cinderpaw used all the muscles in her legs to push Brackenpaw off and send him skidded into the sand. She quickly pinned him down.

"One…two…" Fireheart counted. But Brackenpaw had already heaved Cinderpaw off of him. Cinderpaw's heels slewed and kicked up sand and dust. She charged forward, her ears flat against her head, and gave a mighty leap onto Brackenpaw's shoulders.

She sank in her claws, but not too deep. Cinderpaw didn't want him to bleed, or anything. Brackenpaw rolled onto his back, his heavier weight crushing Cinderpaw.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Fireheart pushed Brackenpaw off of his apprentice. "Stop!"

Cinderpaw knew this had something to do with her pregnancy.

"Don't do that," her mentor was panting. "Cinderpaw is…has been having a lot of belly pains, and…" Cinderpaw nodded wearily.

"Sorry, Cinderpaw," Brackenpaw mewed, shuffling his paws. He helped Cinderpaw up and licked her on the ear.

Graystripe stepped forward. "We don't have a winner until one of the apprentices pins the other one down for three seconds."

"Well, let's just say both of them won," Fireheart meowed, shrugging. "Cinderpaw, you have graduated from your training. Congratulations."

"Same for Brackenpaw," Graystripe agreed, dipping his head. "All that's left to do is your hunting assessment. We'll get to that tomorrow. For now, you two can head back to camp, clean the elders' den, and then practice your fighting and hunting skills. Try not to get in anyone's way, okay?"

Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw nodded, both excited. As they darted back towards the ThunderClan camp, Cinderpaw mewed, "I can't believe we're becoming warriors!"

"I know," Brackenpaw breathed, "but won't you miss being an apprentice?"

"You mean, cleaning out the nursery and elders' den?"

"No!" Brackenpaw stopped and cuffed her on the ear playfully. "I mean, training."

"Not really."

"Come on, not even just a little bit?"

Cinderpaw's blue eyes trailed to the ground a couple rabbit hops away from him. "I guess. Maybe just a little. But being a warrior will be even more fun. Maybe we'll even get our own apprentice! Fireheart would be so proud, and Frostfur. Thornpaw and Brightpaw would be so jealous."

Brackenpaw shrugged. "Yeah, but when we _are _warriors, we will really miss training. There's more to do in the camp as an apprentice than as a warrior. And, making Thornpaw and Brightpaw jealous of us isn't a good thing."

Cinderpaw realized her brother had a point. Apprentices do twice as much work as the warriors, but aren't respected as much. Even so, Cinderpaw was ready to have respect. "I guess. Come on, let's go to the elders' den."

"Well, hello, Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw," Halftail greeted, glancing up from his grooming. Dappletail, Smallear, One-Eye, and Patchpelt also said hello.

"Hi," Brackenpaw mewed. "This is our last time cleaning the elders' den!"

"It is?" Dappletail croaked. "You're becoming warriors?"

"I remember when they were little kits," Smallear sighed. "Frostfur was so proud and happy. Then they became the wonderful apprentices they are now."

Cinderpaw twitched her whiskers. "You remember _everything,_ Smallear." She scraped the moss from underneath him and promised the elders fresh batches.

Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw quickly gathered moss off the base of a tree, shook the dew off, and headed back to camp. The whole time, Cinderpaw's mind was flooded with not becoming a warrior, but becoming a mother. She didn't know how to raise kits! How would she manage to keep the father a secret?

_At least one of the kits is bound to have Fireheart's flame-colored pelt, _Cinderpaw thought in despair. _Everyone will guess that Fireheart is their father and my mate. Oh well, that's nothing to be ashamed of, right?_

The two apprentices entered the elders' den once again. "Here, One-Eye," Cinderpaw mewed, passing the moss to the pale gray elder. Once they finished, Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw padded into the clearing.

"Well…" Cinderpaw sighed.

"Are you hungry?" Brackenpaw asked, gazing at the fresh-kill pile, which was stocked high because of new-leaf.

Cinderpaw shrugged. "Sure."

The siblings shared a thrush, while Thornpaw, Brightpaw, and Cloudpaw crowded around them, asking them tons of questions.

"I can't believe you two are becoming warriors!" Cloudpaw exclaimed. "So we're the only ones sleeping in the apprentices' den after today?"

Brackenpaw nodded. "I guess."

Brightpaw licked her brother on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you! I wonder what your warrior names will be."

Thornpaw, on the other hand, was mainly quiet. Cinderpaw wondered why he was always so gloomy. As a kit he was quite mischievous.

Then, Cinderpaw wondered if it had something to do with Sandkit and Dapplekit.

**Queen of Bad Endings strikes again. This chapter is very long, as you can see. Sorry about that. Next chapter is the last chapter!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	21. xxCHAPTER 20xx

Last chapter

**Last chapter. It's going to be **_**very **_**long. **_**VERY**_** long.**

…CHAPTER 20…

_Fireheart took a couple careful pawsteps _across the tree branch and smiled. Cinderpaw had just caught a young rabbit. He could see Graystripe in the tree next to him, watching Brackenpaw stalk a finch.

It was the last day of Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw's apprenticeship. Unless, of course, they failed the hunting assessment, which was rare with most apprentices. Cinderpaw had already caught a mouse, a sparrow, and the rabbit, and it was only just after dawn.

Fireheart watched her bury it in the damp soot and scent the air. The flame-colored tom already smelled a shrew somewhere to the right, closer to Twolegplace.

The new-leaf air filled his senses. Prey, the budding flowers, and the oncoming rain. Fireheart loved new-leaf just as any other cat did. It brought tons of prey, as well as green-leaf.

By the time it was sunhigh, Cinderpaw had done quite well, catching 9 pieces of prey in all. Fireheart had lost where Graystripe and Brackenpaw had gone, but he was sure the golden-brown tabby had done well in his hunting.

--

Concentrating hard, Cinderpaw placed her paw forward. It scarcely touched the ground; all her weight was on her haunches. She stayed as quiet and careful as she could. The squirrel gathered a couple acorns and dashed toward the oak tree, oblivious to its stalker. Cinderpaw pounced, caught its furry tail between her front paws, and bit its neck. Blood gushed from the wound like a red creek, and suddenly, the squirrel lay still.

Cinderpaw lifted her head, carrying the squirrel between her teeth. She'd caught 10 pieces of prey in less than half a day! But it was time to return to camp. She trudged back to the spot where she'd dug her magpie and her mouse, uncovered them, and grabbed them. That was all she could fit in her jaws.

Hoping Fireheart would appear and help her, she began to pad back to camp. The puffy clouds above her were tinged with gray; some were fully the dull color. Cinderpaw knew rain was on its way.

"Is that all you caught?" Fireheart joked as she approached the camp. Since no cat was watching, she nuzzled him the best she could and passed him her prey. "I'm going to go get the rest," Cinderpaw told her mentor. She turned and darted back to her other prey.

The warm scent flooded her nostrils as Cinderpaw sat in front of Fireheart. A pile of prey was at her paws, and her mouth watered at the scent of the freshly killed prey.

Brackenpaw sat beside her, 8 pieces of prey at his paws. Graystripe and Fireheart both announced, "You passed."

Relief and excitement washed over Cinderpaw like a gust of wind. "Thank you, Fireheart!" she squealed.

Brackenpaw smiled. "Graystripe, thank you for mentoring me and teaching me how to fight and hunt. I've learned so much from you. I'll really miss our training sessions."

Cinderpaw glanced over at her brother. Sadness but determination was filling his amber eyes. "I'll be the best warrior I can be," he promised.

Graystripe licked Brackenpaw between the ears. "It was great mentoring an amazing apprentice who was willing to learn."

"Um, Fireheart," Cinderpaw began, "yeah, um, thanks for mentoring me. You've been a…really awesome mentor for the past few moons, and I really…had fun."

Fun. Was her apprenticeship fun? Cleaning out the elders' den, coating the elders' fur with mouse bile, waking up early for training, and being bossed around and looked down upon by all the warriors and other cats except the kits?

Sadness, mixed with worry, love, excitement, happiness, and relief dizzied Cinderpaw and made her sway on her paws. These emotions were so strong…it was as if they wanted to take over her mind. She drew in a deep breath.

Fireheart smiled warmly. "I had fun, too. I hope someday you become a mentor yourself."

"Um, y-yeah. I hope…so too." Cinderpaw glanced around. Graystripe and Brackenpaw had already left to celebrate. No other cat was around, so she added, "One of our kits."

Fireheart purred. "You were farther than passing your assessment. Ten pieces of prey is amazing! An average apprentice catches about eight, like Brackenpaw. But you, you're an amazing hunter, really."

Cinderpaw basked in the praise and curled her tail.

"Go ahead and take a piece of prey to Yellowfang's den," Fireheart ordered gently. "Then we can have a feast with Graystripe and Brackenpaw to celebrate the end of your apprenticeship."

Nodding, Cinderpaw grabbed a sparrow from her pile of prey and headed for the medicine cat's den. "Yellowfang?" Cinderpaw entered the fern tunnel. "I brought you some prey."

"Cinderpaw, there you are." Yellowfang padded over to the apprentice. "Thank you. How was the assessment?"

"I passed with ten pieces of prey. Fireheart and Graystripe are going to talk to Bluestar about Brackenpaw and my warrior ceremonies."

"Nice job. How is your belly?"

The belly pains hadn't bothered Cinderpaw too much, except for when she was stalking a vole. She doubled over in pain, stepped on a twig, and the vole scampered off. She waited for a couple heartbeats and it faded. Every time the pain came, it felt like someone had kicked her belly. Strange.

"It's fine." Cinderpaw dropped the sparrow at Yellowfang's paws, turned, and hurried into the clearing. The sun was gradually sinking in the sky. It washed over the camp, creating long shadows and glows of red and orange. Cinderpaw could see a few more dark clouds, but none of them blocked the rays sent from the setting sun.

--

"This is one good rabbit, Cinderpaw," Fireheart commented, gulping a bite of the young rabbit. He'd witnessed her catch it quite swiftly; for the rabbit hadn't given much of a chase.

Cinderpaw smiled and looked proud. "Thank you, Fireheart."

The reason Fireheart praised her so much was because he loved the way her smile looked. It was so adorable. Her whiskers twitched, her eyes closed, and the ends of her lips curled upward. It was a beautiful, precious smile that Fireheart would never, ever forget, even if she died before him.

Fireheart stood up and stretched. "Come on, Graystripe. Let's go talk to Bluestar."

Brackenpaw and Cinderpaw looked thrilled but continued sharing tongues with each other.

Graystripe padded across the clearing, Fireheart at his heels. He was just as excited for his apprentice as she was, but was also slightly disappointed. Cinderpaw would only feel the exhilaration of being a new warrior for about two days, before she switched from the warriors' den to the nursery.

"Bluestar?" Fireheart called, standing in front of the entrance. The lichen curtains parted as Bluestar stepped outside. "Graystripe, Fireheart," she greeted, dipping her head. "Have you come to discuss Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw's ceremony?"

Graystripe nodded. "They both passed. Can we hold it…maybe this evening?"

"Of course," Bluestar agreed. "Is that okay with you, Fireheart?"

"Yes, Bluestar. Thank you."

**Well, I've decided to make an epilogue. Yeah, it was just a sudden change of mind. If I made this chapter any longer, with the warrior ceremony, you'd die of boredom. XD So, yeah…sorry. See you in the epilogue.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	22. xxEPILOGUExx

NOW it's the last chapter, since I changed my mind about chapter 20 being the last one

**NOW it's the last chapter, since I changed my mind about chapter 20 being the last one. Epilogue time.**

…EPILOGUE…

_Cinderpaw gazed over the crowd of _ThunderClan cats. The cats that she'd fought for. The cats that'd been there for her, and that will be there for her forever. The cats that'd gathered around the Highrock just for her and Brackenpaw.

"I, Bluestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Cinderpaw and Brackenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Bluestar's eyes glinted with wisdom.

"I do," the two apprentices hastily mewed in unison. Cinderpaw's heart thudded so loudly in her chest, she was sure Brackenpaw and Bluestar could hear it.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Bluestar announced. "Brackenpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Brackenfur. StarClan honor your loyalty and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Bluestar rested her chin on the new warrior's bowed head and let him lick her shoulder respectfully. Thrilled for her brother, Cinderpaw watched him pad off the Highrock and into the swarm of congratulating cats.

Bluestar turned to Cinderpaw. "Cinderpaw, from this moment, you will be known as Cinderpool. StarClan honor your courage and devotion to your Clan, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Her heart fluttering like a bird's wing, Cinderpool rasped her tongue over Bluestar's shoulder and trembling, scurried into the clearing.

"Brackenfur! Cinderpool! Brackenfur! Cinderpool!"

The Clan's cries floated in the air like mist, cheering for the two new warriors. Cinderpool gave a sigh of satisfaction and happiness. She was a warrior, and that's all she'd ever wanted to be.

--One and a Half Moons Later—

"Oh, Cinderpool," Fireheart breathed, gazing lovingly at the three balls of fur nestled in the slender curve of his mate's body. "They're the most beautiful kits I've ever seen."

Cinderpool nuzzled him. "What do we name them?" She glanced down at the kits-two toms and a she-cat. She'd been right; the she-cat had flame-colored fur. Any cat who knew Fireheart would be able to guess that this kit was his.

"I like Emberkit, for the she-cat," Fireheart suggested. The she-cat squealed and batted her paw in the air, as if agreeing with her father.

"What about Crowkit for the dark gray tom?" Cinderpool gave the gray tom a lick on the flank.

"Sure." Fireheart glanced up as a shadow cast over the kits. "Hi, Brackenfur."

Brackenfur stared at the three kits. "They're beautiful, Cinderpool. What have you named them?"

"So far, the ginger she-cat is Emberkit and the tom is Crowkit," Fireheart explained. "We can't think of a name for the golden-brown tabby tom."

Brackenfur smiled. "He got his fur color from me." He ruffled his pelt. "What about Oakkit?"

"Perfect," Cinderpool purred, licking her brother between the ears. "Emberkit, Crowkit, and Oakkit."

**Well, that's the epilogue. I'm posting the allegiances, so that will be the very ending. I have enough reviews so far, so I'll make a sequel, if that's what you guys want.**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


	23. xxALLEGIANCESxx

**Aww…the last chapter. Well, this isn't really a chapter. It's the allegiances. Yeah…so here they are.**

…ALLEGIANCES…

THUNDERCLAN

Leader: **Bluestar-** blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle

Deputy: **Tigerclaw-** big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws

Medicine Cat: **Yellowfang-** old dark gray she-cat with a broad, flattened face, formerly of ShadowClan

Warriors:

**Whitestorm-** big white tom

_Apprentice, Brightpaw_

**Darkstripe-** sleek black-and-gray tabby tom

**Longtail-** pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

**Runningwind-** swift tabby tom

**Willowpelt-** very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes

**Mousefur-** small dusky brown she-cat

_Apprentice, Thornpaw_

**Frostfur-** beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

**Fireheart-** flame-colored tom

_Apprentice, Cloudpaw_

**Graystripe-** longhaired solid gray tom

**Dustpelt-** dark brown tabby tom

**Swiftstep-** black-and-white tom

**Brackenfur-** golden-brown tabby tom

Apprentices:

**Cloudpaw-** longhaired white tom

**Brightpaw-** white she-cat with ginger splotches

**Thornpaw-** golden-brown tabby tom

Queens:

**Cinderpool-** fluffy dark gray she-cat with huge blue eyes, mother of Fireheart's unborn kits

**Brindleface-** pretty tabby she-cat, mother of unborn kits

**Goldenflower-** pale ginger she-cat, mother of Tigerclaw's kits: Bramblekit and Tawnykit

**Speckletail-** pale tabby, and the oldest queen in the nursery, mother of Snowkit

Elders:

**Halftail-** big dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing

**Smallear-** gray tom with very small ears, oldest tom in ThunderClan

**Patchpelt-** small black-and-white tom

**One-Eye-** pale gray she-cat, oldest cat in ThunderClan. Virtually blind and deaf

**Dappletail-** once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

SHADOWCLAN

Leader: **Nightstar- **black tom

Deputy: **Tigerclaw-** (see ThunderClan deputy)

Medicine Cat: **Runningnose-** small gray-and-white tom

Warriors:

**Stumpytail- **brown tabby tom

_Apprentice, Brownpaw_

**Wetfoot-** dark gray tabby tom

_Apprentice, Oakpaw_

**Littlecloud-** very small tabby tom

Apprentices:

**Brownpaw-** dusky brown tom

**Oakpaw-** small brown tabby tom

Queens:

**Dawncloud-** small tabby she-cat

**Darkflower-** black she-cat

**Tallpoppy-** long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

WINDCLAN

Leader: **Tallstar- **black-and-white tom with a very long tail

Deputy: **Deadfoot-** black tom with a twisted paw

Medicine Cat: **Barkface- **short-tailed brown tabby tom

Warriors:

**Mudclaw-** mottled dark brown tom

_Apprentice, Webpaw_

**Tornear- **tabby tom

_Apprentice, Runningpaw_

**Onewhisker- **young brown tabby tom

**Whitetail-** white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

**Webpaw-** dark gray tabby tom

**Runningpaw-** pale gray she-cat

Queens:

**Ashfoot-** gray she-cat

**Morningflower-** tortoiseshell she-cat

RIVERCLAN

Leader: **Crookedstar-** huge light tabby tom with a crooked jaw

Deputy: **Stonefur-** gray tom with battle-scarred ears

_Apprentice, Shadepaw_

Medicine Cat: **Mudfur- **longhaired light brown tom

Warriors:

**Blackclaw-** smoky black tom

_Apprentice, Heavypaw_

**Loudbelly- **dark brown tom

**Silverstream-** slender silver tabby she-cat

Apprentice:

**Shadepaw-** dark gray she-cat

**Heavypaw-** thickset tabby tom

Queens:

**Mistyfoot- **dark gray she-cat

Elders:

**Graypool- **thin gray she-cat with patchy fur and a scarred muzzle

CATS OUTSIDE CLANS

**Barley-** black-and-white tom who lives in a barn close to the forest

**Ravenpaw-** sleek black tom with a white-tipped tail who lives with Barley

**Princess-** light brown tabby she-cat with white paws and chest, kittypet

**Smudge-** friendly, plump black-and-white tom who lives in a house in the edge of the forest

**Blackfoot- **white tom with huge jet-black paws, formerly of ShadowClan

**Boulder-** silver tabby tom

**Well, that's the end of ****Heart of Fire: Pool of Cinders Book 1****! If I get between 95-100 reviews, I will do a sequel. Bye, and thanks for reading and reviewing, all you readers and reviewers!**

**xx-Starfall-xx**


End file.
